5 Days Till Destiny
by may8elle
Summary: When Levy notices something seriously wrong with her best blonde friend, she's determined to help- whether Lucy wants that help or not. Lucy, tricked to go to Sabertooth to spend time with Yukino, is now forced to stay there until she feels better. Who knows how long that will take- or what will happen in the mean time. Post Tartaros, Pre Alvares. Spoilers for arcs Pre-Tartaros.
1. The Beginning

_**The Beginning**_

It always happened at least once in a while for everyone and it happened in different ways. The retreat.

For Mirajane, it happened once a year around the time she and Elfman had lost Lisanna. She would retreat into herself, her words becoming scarce and her nightmares growing in frequency for a while. She would get insomnia for about a week because of her fear to even sleep.

For Erza, it was around the the time she remembers being forced from the Tower of Heaven. It could be once a year or once every five years for her. When it happened, she took S-Class exclusive missions on her own to take her emotions out onto beasts instead of on people. This typically lasted about one to two weeks. At most a month.

For Cana, it was around the time she got caught up on failing to tell her last living relative that he was in fact her father. It only happened about once a year, but sometimes it happened twice a year. Her drinking, destructive already, would either become worse or cease to exist. If it became worse, she would isolate herself by going to a different bar every so often and rack up high tabs to pay off with her savings. This only lasted three days at most.

But for Lucy, it was different. It happened like a punch to the face and lasted about as long as it takes a fractured rib to heal. A month and a half to two months. However, she could hide it so much easier than her friends because she was used to hiding everything. She was raised to understand how to hide all fear and pain. After all, when you were as wealthy as the Heartfilias were, you have the whole world watching you through a magnifying glass. A smile and a wave could go a long way when you didn't even trust crying yourself to sleep for fear of the maids hearing you. Every problem you have, every imperfection... Everything broadcasted, held over your face and shoved down your throat. So you suck it up. Bottle it up. And keep it clean.

Which, ironically, carries over to this day. If Natsu barged in without fear of seeing her naked, he would barge in on her crying- which was, honestly, her worst fear. Crying because of something happening in real time was different; the fear or shock that was happening at the moment could overwhelm anyone. But crying over something he couldn't directly fix would probably both confuse him and only make things worse for her.

So she always held it in until she was able to cry because of something happening on a mission.

Yes, she was called a cry baby by a lot of people, but it never bothered her much. If they knew what she held in simply to release at the only few moments she could, perhaps they wouldn't judge her as much.

But Lucy's retreat was filled with insomnia, not for fear of nightmares but with the thought that she didn't _deserve_ to rest. Her retreat was filled with writing as much on her novels as possible, to the point where she wrote until her hands _literally_ could not move because she _deserved_ that much. Her retreat was filled with a drink of alcohol here and there because she didn't _deserve_ to get drunk and have her terrible emotions leave, but because she also deserved the side effects- like the hangover that would haunt her the next morning.

See, Lucy was different from her friend for one reason; she was suicidal.

Now, being suicidal does not mean holding a gun to one's head or tying a rope to the ceiling. It doesn't even mean a cut to flesh or a bottle of pills. Sometimes it's drinking because the threat of liver failure is there, walking across the edge of the canals because the threat of falling in is there, it's rushing into danger with crazy friend even knowing they can handle it on their own because threat of being severely hurt is there, it's not sleeping or eating much because the threat of one's body collapsing in exhaustion is there…

 **Sometimes it's just not putting effort into living.**

Though, typically, the brain does not pick up on this. It does not pick up on the realization that the behavior is destructive and that information is typically found in one's subconscious... But it's still there. The behavior is destructive, it's horrible and you're aware of that much at the very least. You're aware of the threat that comes with it... But it was like you just could not bring yourself to care. You couldn't bring yourself to care because you don't want to think about that. You don't want it to be real. To realize just how bad it is. And that's where Lucy fell currently.

Only this time, when she was going into her retreat, one person did in fact notice; Levy. The only person who ever noticed.

Lucy's best friend of all time finally pieced everything together about two years ago. And, when Lucy didn't get any better after two months this time, Levy became exceptionally worried.

"So, Shrimp, you wanted details?" Gajeel asked gruffly, one metallic eyebrow raising in question as she sat a little too close to him in the very back corner of the guild. Not that he minded in the least bit, but he wasn't about to voice that. "And why do I have to be quiet about it?"

Levy huffed and rolled her eyes. "I have information I really need to share with you… Because I don't know what to do and I need help… And you're the only person I know that would be able to help."

"Bunny-girl?" He asked, his saltiness barely showing through. Yes, he was jealous of the amount of attention Lucy garnered from the blue lass. Yes, he would admit it to himself all day long. But only to himself.

Levy bit her lower lip and her eyes darted over to the blonde mage sitting at the bar who was talking with Mira at the bar with a glass of scotch in her hand. "That's the thing…"

Gajeel looked over at the blonde, not seeing anything different than usual, but the sadness in Levy's tone and in her eyes spoke levels. It had to be about Lucy. He sighed. " _Alright_ , alright.."

"Thank you," she said hurriedly, her smile growing.

The dragon slayer felt his cheeks heat up at her smile but he forced down the oncoming blush. He pointed at Mirajane and watched as the solid script mage followed his finger. "When she turns around, because of the open back of her dress, you can see it on her left hip."

"See what?"

"Just watch."

So, patiently, the two slyly watched Mira move around behind the bar. When Macao asked for a refill on his drink, an excruciating fifteen minutes later, she finally turned around, but Levy saw nothing. There was nothing there. At least, until she twisted her upper body to the right when she looked back at him to ask him something. The fabric of the dress shifted ever so slightly, falling away from what her hazel eyes wanted to see.

There, on her hip, was at least one puncture wound scar with two erratic and strange lightning shaped scars coming from it. However, though one could see it was a scar, one could also see the faint yellow coloring to it.

Levy's eyes widened. " _No way. That looks so fucking cool._ "

Gajeel laughed quietly. "I smelled it when she came in the next day. Now look at him."

Her hazel eyes slyly drifted to Laxus, who seemed at home where he was at. At a table a bit closer to the bar than where she and the first gen dragon slayer were at, Laxus sat leaned towards his three best friends. They were all engaged in conversation but she saw his slip up. Oh, she saw it alright. He glanced Mira's way for half a second when none of the others were looking in his direction. However, then, he must've felt Levy's gaze on him and looked their way.

He obviously saw her wide eyes and shocked smile and Gajeel's cocky smirk because his jaw clenched and his eyes seemed to plead to her to not tell.

And she nodded, understanding.

Seeming relieved, he turned his attention back to his friends.

"That's so rad," she whispered, awestruck. "I bet yours would look like iron bars.. Sting's maybe like the sun's rays… Rogue's might look like a bruise… Natsu's like flames?"

The iron dragon slayer seemed to tense when she brought his up but soon enough, she ended Natsu's like a question. "It does."

"Oh?" she asked, looking up at him in an attempt to lead the conversation where she wanted it to go. "How do you know?"

And part of the puzzle fit together, but he still had no idea what the full picture was. Her information was about Lucy and he knew what Natsu's mark looked like. "It's not Bunny-"

"I know. It's Lisanna," she finished for him.

He raised a brow and noticed her looking towards the white haired lass. "Alright, her right shoulder."

This time, they watched the girl for at least thirty minutes. The way Natsu's eyes stayed on her so intently and lovingly every time she spoke, the way he held her hand and rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand... Everything between the two seemed so sweet that Levy almost forgot what she was supposed to be watching them for. That is, before Lisanna's loose shirt fell just enough down her shoulder for them to see two puncture scars with what looked like small flame-like scars coming from them. And, again, you could see a faint red hue to them.

"So that's what's happening," Levy murmured.

He snorted and rolled his red eyes. "Now are you going to fess up?"

She nodded, but paused. "Not here though… I don't want people to hear."

"We'll head to dinner then."

The two mages left in silence, not going unnoticed by Mirajane who smiled widely at the sight. Laxus soon approached her, though, but Lucy- by that time- had left. Mirajane knew when the blonde woman left, but was happily surprised when the blond man took the spot she had mere moments ago. "She knows," he said simply, whispering low enough so that no one else could hear them. Well, Natsu _would_... If he were paying attention. Which he wasn't.

"So?" Mira asked, raising a thin brow, her voice just as soft as his. "I told you, I don't mind people knowing. When you're ready, we can tell, but until then, I know Levy enough to know that she won't speak about it."

"That's not what I'm telling you. She knows. About Lis, too."

"Ah," Mira said, sadness creeping into her smile, "so it's just about information then… Her thirst for knowledge is going to get in the way of them one day." A dainty hand rested over her heart as she watched the doors in an almost longing manner. Between Lucy accepting Lisanna as her own sister only mere seconds after she was mated to Natsu (well, seconds after they had told her, anyway), and how Levy seemed to be off in her own world and almost completely unaware of Gajeel's feelings towards her... The barmaid's heart ached a little.

Lucy seemed to be the only single one anymore and Mira's brain was almost instantly whirling with thoughts and possible matches. Freed and Bickslow were still available... But she wasn't entirely certain the blonde woman wanted anything to do with a relationship between nakama. Just to be safe, she made a mental list of the men of other guilds and started ticking off the taken, married, and the ones she _knew_ Lucy wouldn't like. If Natsu and Lisanna, Gray and Juvia, and Erza and _Jellal_ had managed to find happiness and work out a nice medium with their relationships, then Lucy damn well deserved that happiness in her life too. At least, to the she-devil, she did.

"I see that look in your eye," Laxus said, a warning tone to his quiet voice. "I'd suggest staying out of it."

She smiled sweetly- or, what she hoped to be sweet but only seemed more devious- to her mate. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Laxus! I'm not thinking about them right now!~"

He eyed her warily, not sensing a lie in her words but... That smile and look in her eyes mere moments ago? Something was up. "Alright then..."

* * *

Across town, Levy and Gajeel- along with Pantherlily- sat at a table in a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The only restaurant that knew of the dragon slayer's want for things inedible. Before him sat a small pile of iron scraps, two kiwis before Pantherlily, and half of a turkey sandwich in Levy's small hands.

And the girl was now rolling her eyes. "So you noticed Mira, Cana, Erza, Lisanna, and even mine but not Lucy's?"

To which the black haired man scoffed. "She hides it well, you even said that. It's not my fault."

Levy sat the sandwich down and clasped her hands together, her elbows on the table and her mouth hidden behind her hands. "Lu's is like… You know when she doesn't sleep well. You know that she doesn't always drink liquor…"

Gajeel nodded and noticed that both things were currently happening. "And?"

"I bet right now she feels like she lost her best friend. I understand that Natsu comes before me, but because of how possessive dragons are claimed to be, I think that might carry over, yes?" After garnering a nod from the dragon, she continued. "So he must be spending a lot more time with Lisanna and Lucy is probably just afraid she'll be forgotten."

"I honestly thought Natsu and Lucy were going to date," Lily said before pausing for a second. "Did she ever feel anything towards him?"

Levy paused as well in her movement to pick the sandwich up and shook her head. "Yes and no. She loves him but she loves him like a brother. We sat down and she explained all of her feelings for, like, two hours before she realized that her love wasn't what she thought it was at first."

The slayer nodded, thoughtfully crunching on his scraps. "So Bunny-girl is afraid to lose her brother."

"I think so. But usually Lu gets out of this state after about a month to two months… So it might be something else... Or something else combined with that..."

"And this time, it has been going on for four," Lily finished.

The three ate in silence for a while at that point, simply taking in the given information and letting it simmer for a moment or two. The silence was comfortable, like an enjoyable silence but one that wards off others from their own little bubble. Like the three were in a world all of their own, unable to be reached even if someone did approach. In fact, none of the three noticed when the waitress had come and refilled their drinks.

Gajeel looked up at Levy after a while, trying to get over the pitter-pattering of his heart at just how this seemed like a dinner he'd want at home with the three of them. "So you want help to get Lucy out of her state?"

Levy nodded, biting her lower lip after swallowing the bite she was masticating. "I tried spending the day with her a while back but even that didn't help. I've tried talking to her and she just claims to be tired... I'm just... I'm _worried_ and I don't know what else I could possibly do. I figured you might be able to help, considering you're another slayer."

"We'll need outside help, then." He finished off his scraps and leaned back to get a bit more comfortable. "It ain't like I don't _want_ to, but I sure as _hell_ ain't about to get between a slayer and his mate. _**'** Specially_ not with what's comin' up. You're always the one that gets her to sleep well and stop what little drinkin' she does- I have noticed that much. Is there anyone else you can think of that she's close to?"

Levy huffed and placed the last portion of the sandwich down, her hands raising to her temples. "Cana would freak out and would do more harm than good, Mira too. She's close to her spirits, but we can't call them… Gray and Erza would do more harm than good as well- much more harm- and Wendy's too young to go through this..."

"Back up a bit, Shrimp, we can't call her spirits, but ain't there someone else who can? That one chick... What's-er-fuck from Saber..."

"Oh!" Levy said, her smile growing large. "Yukino is her friend who probably understands her feelings because of what happened at Sabertooth and she can call spirits, too!"

Gajeel felt pride swell in his heart because he was the one who caused such a vibrant smile to illuminate her face. Not that he'd ever admit such a thing. When she stood, he did too, wondering where she was running off too.

"Oh, thank you so much, Gajeel! You're the best!" she exclaimed, jumping and wrapping her arms around his chest. "Oh goodness, I have a letter to write! Here, let me get the jewel for-"

"Don't worry about it," he cut her off, his smile genuine for once. "I got it covered. You go write your letter."

Levy thanked him again with another tight hug and ran out of the building, leaving him behind smiling after her escaping form with a hand over his chest.

"You've got it bad," Lily commented.

Gajeel didn't even quip back this time. Instead, he watched after the short mage with a longing look in his eyes. "Ain't much I can do 'bout that, Lil... I'd do anythin' for my mate..."

"Heh. I thought as much. When are you going to tell her about that-"

The man scoffed and turned his back to his exceed partner. "Not any time soon, that's fer damn sure."

* * *

 _Author's Note: I know it starts a little slow, but here we go! The first fanfic I've got for you guys. Hopefully you like it and are willing to stick along for the ride! But I'll go ahead and clarify a couple of things._

 _This story is **POST TARTAROS ARC** and **PRE ALVAREZ**. It is set **AFTER** the one year of disbandment Fairy Tail has gone through. So, to make it a little more clear, the official timeline FOR THIS STORY is; Tartaros Arc, Fairy Tail disbands for one year, Natsu returns and finds Lucy, Natsu and Lucy bring Fairy Tail back together, Fairy Tail had been together for ONE YEAR now._

 _If there's anything else I need to clarify, let me know and I will in the author's notes of Chapter Two! But, thank you all for reading and I hope you'll like this enough to come back for chapter two!_


	2. The Course of Action

_**Author's Note** : Holy crap guys, thank you all for all of the love and support! I'm so glad so many people are finding interest in my story and to the guest who commented about slow pick-ups ; yes, it does start a little slow. Hopefully, though, you can continue to hold interest until everything is fully revealed. c: again, im so thankful to you all and for all the reviews i've gotten up to this point. Thank you all so, so much!_

 _Without further ado, let's get to another chapter so we can get to the RoLu faster, yes?~_

* * *

 _ **The Course of Action**_

"Lady Yukino," came from Rufus's mouth as he entered the guild hall, "you have a letter."

The celestial mage furrowed her brows, her mind questioning what could have brought the letter their way- well, at least brought a letter to the guild. The usual group sat at their claimed table; Rogue sat alongside Orga across from Yukino and Rufus respectively, while on either end of the table sat Minerva (on the end where Rufus and Orga sat across from each other) on one side and Sting (on the end where Yukino and Rogue sat across from each other) on the other. The blonde memory mage promptly took his seat and passed the letter along to the woman it was intended for.

"Who sent it?" Sting asked, his own brows furrowed in question. The only time the guild's mailbox was filled with personal letters was when the sender didn't know the intended mage's address- which meant it was from someone who knew of Yukino but didn't know her well enough.

The other blonde gave a sly smirk. "The Fairies are playing with Tigers again."

"So it's from Fairy Tail?" Rogue asked, raising a brow and tensing a little. "Lucy knows Yukino's address though…"

The pale blue haired lass shook her head. "It's not Lucy's wax seal. Plus, it doesn't smell like honey vanilla.. It smells more like old ink…" She held the letter back and thoroughly inspected the outside of it as though she were wary- which wasn't true. In fact, she was extremely happy but she wanted to know who it was from before diving into it. Though, it didn't look like the envelope was going to give her any more clues.

Sting laughed. "Didn't expect to hear that from you!"

"Yeah, we get it enough from the damn dragons.. They're rubbing off on you, 'Kino," Orga grunted, flashing his own smile and setting his jaw in his hand.

Minerva scooted forward. "Are you going to open it or gawk at it all day?" Her tone wasn't snippy, despite the words, but rather inquiring- interested, in a sense.

"I'll read it, goodness," Yukino huffed as she tore open the letter.

"Out loud! I'm curious!" Sting demanded. This prompted the celestial mage to stick her tongue out at him, but she complied with a smile.

" _Dear Yukino,_

 _I know it must be weird getting a letter from someone who isn't Lucy, General Arcadios, or Princess Hisui, but here this is! My name is Levy McGarden and I'm proud to call myself Lucy's best friend, second obviously to her brother-like friends Natsu and Gray, and she even considers me and Erza both sisters if that says anything! But all that aside, I'm at a stand-still and, frankly, so is Lucy. She's too stubborn to ask for help, and since I'm the only one who noticed this, I'm doing it for her._

 _Lucy doesn't love Natsu the way everyone assumed. She sees him as her brother. And she's afraid to lose that brother. He just mated with Lisanna (another friend and guildmate of ours) and he's spending so little time with her she probably feels forgotten. Don't quote me on this, though, but that is the only thing I can personally think of. Now, I know this sounds weird but I'm positive you know how Lucy's retreating time is-_ "

"Retreating time?" Orga asked in a confused manner.

Minerva, however, hushed him with her brows furrowed in worry. "Continue, please."

" _-and it's been over four months this time. I can't help her out like I usually do (trust me I've tried) and our guildmates would do more harm than good… We can't contact her spirits and I know you can't either but I know you can have someone ask Virgo or Aries to help her… Quite frankly, I think she needs a bit of a vacation and you're the friend she talked to me about last time! So it's not like you'd just be a messenger, you know!_

 _Not on my behalf, but on Lucy's, can you please get in contact with me to flesh out details? My lacrima number is-_ Oh, let's not read that part aloud… _I'm very worried for her and I know she misses you and since I can't do anything more, I'm reaching out to you before she spirals. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope to speak with you soon!_

 _A mutual friend,_

 _Levy McGarden._ "

Minerva crossed her arms and leaned forward. "Four months?"

"It seems so… I know they usually last about a month for her- two at the very most," Yukino said, rereading the letter quickly.

Rufus cleared his throat. "If I may reiterate Orga's question?"

The black haired lass leaned back and huffed. "You know when you get really worried when I go on missions for long periods? Or when Yukino stays in her apartment watching her movie lacrimas? That's retreating time. When things become too much for us to handle so we take time to destroy ourselves and get all of that emotion out until it's over." The lass shook her head. "You all do it too. Sting usually around the time the… Lector anniversary comes around, for instance."

Sting looked down at the sleeping exceed in his lap and clenched his fists. "I see… Well, Yukino, tell Levy that Lucy is welcomed here for as long as she needs." His words held a tone of finality to them, and he was positive- especially from the nods of agreement around the table- that nobody was going to defy his statement. He understood that times like that could be rough, and since both Minerva and Yukino considered Lucy a friend, there was no reason he shouldn't either.

Which meant there was no reason to deny a friend in need.

Yukino nodded and pulled out her own lacrima. "I think I'll call her now. Rogue, come with me please?"

"Why him?" Sting asked pointedly, sounding a lot more defensive than he had meant to.

Rogue rolled his eyes, trying to relax his tense shoulders. "I'm not going to touch your mate... But, Yukino, he has a point. Why me?"

The lass blushed and shook her head. "If this is the Levy I heard so much about, Gajeel is bound to be around her. I thought it would give you two time to catch up in your… Weird way."

* * *

Levy blinked twice at the ringing in her pocket and she glanced up at Gajeel who was sitting beside her on his couch. He nodded, silently telling her that she could answer right there while he paused the movie they were currently watching. She could see the way he bristled at being interrupted, though she figured it was because this was one of his favorite movies. Not that she was wrong.. It just wasn't the whole truth.

"Hello?" She asked, pulling it out to show the light blue haired woman standing beside a black haired man.

" _Miss Levy?_ " the lass's voice carried over. " _It's Yukino! Thank you for the letter, what was is you wanted to talk about?_ "

Levy smiled warmly, extremely happy that the lass actually took the time to contact her. "Oh thank goodness, I was worried-"

"Everyone is worried about bunny-girl," Gajeel interrupted, shoving himself into the frame. "We need to pass her off to you."

"Gajeel! Stop making it sound like she's an item!"

"I ain't doing that, I'm letting them know what we thought of."

"Oh you iron lug," she grumbled as she hit the top of his head with her fist which prompted a lighthearted laugh from him. "But, yes, we were wondering if it would be alright if she came over there to hang out until she feels better?"

Rogue nodded, interrupting Yukino who was taking a breath to speak. " _Our idiot of a master already said she was allowed for as long as she needed. It had to be explained what was going on from what we heard, but he understood well enough. Is she not around?_ "

"Nah, man, she doesn't know we're doin' this. If she did, ya know she wouldn't let us help," Gajeel said with a slight pout to his face.

The celestial mage huffed. " _But yes, Sting did say she could stay, but would that be okay on your end? Doesn't she worry about rent a lot?_ "

Levy nodded and smiled warmly. "I've talked to my team about it. She just paid last week, so if she does end up staying longer than three weeks, we'll cover that bit for her."

" _And have you spoken with Master Makarov about it?_ " Rogue inquired.

Gajeel grunted. "I did. He became just as worried as we are, so he's fine with it. Her team won't know until she's already over there, so they don't flip shit. I also let Laxus know-"

"You did WHAT?!" Levy asked loudly, whirling to look at the tall man with angry eyes. "Why did you do that?! Master I can understand but-"

" _Miss Levy,_ " Rogue interrupting, not missing the slightly panicked look to Gajeel's face as he was yelled at. " _If I remember correctly, Mister Makarov is getting older and even though he was reappointed Master upon the reunion and reconstruction of the guild, isn't it decently appropriate to run things by the successor as well?_ "

Levy paused and smiled apologetically at Gajeel. "Is that why you did?"

The Iron Dragon looked to the screen, lowly muttering a 'thanks' that he knew only Rogue would be able to hear as he rubbed the back of his neck. "That and I felt a need to explain why I told you about him n' Mira. Had to rebuild that trust somehow, Shrimp."

"Alright," she said, nodding, "you're forgiven then!"

Yukino's brows furrowed at the display but brushed it off and cleared her throat to recapture everyone's attention.. " _So, how are we going to convince her to come over to Sabertooth?_ "

Levy smiled deviously. "Well, I have an idea…"

The four spoke about a plan of minor deception and, once that was taken care of, began talking about various things. The iron dragon slayer teased the other man for a short period about his name change (and how cheesy his new chosen name was), the two caught up from where they had previously left off, and the girls had a few moments to talk about various things after the men caught up. Once the lacrima was off, Levy slumped back into the couch and subconsciously leaned against the large male sitting beside her.

"What did he mean by that?"

To which the black haired man blushed and looked off to the side. "I don't know what you're talking 'bout."

The script mage giggled and looked up to him. "You know because you answered him! What does ' _it's her, huh?_ ' mean? If you're talking about me, I think I deserve to know.."

"N-No! It ain't a damn thing, Shrimp! It's... nothing you need to know."

"Well, seeing as how it sounds like it concerns me, I think I _should_ know."

Gajeel grumbled again and crossed his arms, pouting in that strange way he did. "It's a dragon slayer thing…"

"So?" she asked, pulling away from him to put her hands on his cheeks and force him to look at her. "I told you I want to know more about you and your magic and you haven't told me much of anything at all!"

He sighed and nodded, agreeing to sate her thirst for knowledge. Again. "Dragons passed down a bunch'a shit to us, but one important trait above the rest to us slayers… We ain't gotta walk through life wondering what's up. Natsu probably vaguely knew years before it happened, Laxus probably knew, in a weird fuckin' way, but didn't understand until the jackass came to me askin' bout shit… Hell, Wendy probably already knows if she met 'em. She's smarter than those two morons."

Levy raised a brow. "What do you mean? You're being more cryptic than I thought possible…"

" _Hey_! I can talk this shit when I wanna!" He huffed and continued pouting. "We know from the moment we meet them. Our mates. 'Course you might not know 'till later on, but it's like... Somethin' inside tells us this is the one before we can even think twice about it… We like everything about them: their scent, their voice, their appearance… It ain't somethin' we can choose on our own, it's chosen for us."

The small woman's face lit up like a firetruck at his explanation. "So… Natsu knew years ago that his mate was Lisanna because it's what fate chose?"

"Somethin' like that… But that trait also makes us feel fuckin' comfortable as hell 'round people we will consider to be family, too. Like that damn lightning lug... He's like a damn brother to me. Makes me feel at home in a strange, douche-baggy way."

"How... How do you tell the difference later on?" she asked, that look in her eyes telling him that her brain was piecing everything together.

He groaned lightly, not thinking his face could possibly get any redder. He wasn't good at explaining this stuff, and never would be. The conversation with Laxus was hell on Earthland but this was _torture_. "Well... I'm gonna put it this way. Bunny-girl makes me feel at home 'round her, too. But it's more than that... It's like one day you look at them and the world around them just falls away. Nothing else matters but their smile and happiness... It's like a damn light guiding your path..."

Her hazel eyes narrowed in thought and he watched her like a hawk for her reaction. He was beginning to worry when she didn't move and that nervous feeling only amplified when a warm smile lit up her face.

"So that's why your attack… You didn't hurt me as badly as Jet and Droy. You were hesitant about it. I remember thinking that it might've been because I was a woman, but you and Lu proved that otherwise." She leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his torso.

He rested his nose against the top of her head. She smelled wonderful. "I still can't explain how sorry… How terrible I feel about that-"

"Hush, you," she said, bopping him lightly on the head. "I already told you it's water under the bridge!"

He shook his head, biting his lower lip. "I hurt you… I knew you were the one chosen for me but I doubted… I couldn't let that happen because I hurt you… And I ain't told you 'cause of th-"

She startled him be crawling in his lap, her head laying against his chest. "But what if I want to be yours?"

Time ceased to exist. His heartbeat was frantic and there was a tight pressure winding around his heart that he didn't want to be there. "I-I can't, Shrimp-"

Levy successfully shut him up and, simultaneously, swept away his worry when she placed a finger over his lips. The look in her hazel eyes was one of acceptance and, dare he say it, love. And he sure as hell wasn't expecting her to kiss his cheek. Nor what she said.

She leaned forward to his ear. "I know what the mating process tells of, there are plenty of books on it… Why don't you mark me already?"

* * *

Lucy sat at a table with Lisanna, Natsu, Gray, Juvia, and Erza in the middle of the guild hall. She was laughing and cutting up with the three other ladies while the two guys argued over something near insignificant. Lisanna, at first, had been worried that Lucy might not be okay with the turn of events between her and Natsu, but the blonde had been more than accepting, almost instantly considering the white haired lass like a sister with her two other 'sisters' in the guild.

"It's not like anything bad would've come from it in the first place! They really didn't need to freak out!" Lucy exclaimed, sipping on her ale and swallowing before speaking again while Erza and Lisanna laughed. "Virgo can be a handful, I swear."

"Lucy," Lisanna said, smacking the table while trying to catch her breath. As soon as she calmed down, she spoke. "Your spirits really are something special."

"Indeed, they are," Erza said softly, her smile wide. "They've all gotten us out of more than one tight situation."

Natsu seemed to hear this and stopped his argument instantly. "Like in Fantasia when Loke helped you kick Bickslow's ass!"

" _ **HEY**_!" The seith mage's shout could be heard over the rowdiness of the rest of the guild, causing the table to laugh.

"Or any of the times Aquarius kicked serious ass?" Gray offered, an eyebrow raised.

Erza nodded and leaned forward. "You haven't heard about the last mission Lucy and I went on, have you?"

After gathering a round of shaking heads from every direction, she leaned back and smirked smugly. "She took out an entire dark guild by herself."

" _LUCY DID? NO WAY!_ " Gray and Natsu yelled in unison.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks for the support, guys."

Juvia lightly smacked Gray's arm. "Lucy-san is stronger than you think, Gray-sama," she scolded.

The takeover mage leaned forward and prodded the celestial wizard's arm. "Tell us more!"

She nodded. "Alright. Two weeks ago, Erza came to me with a triple-S class mission, claiming she wanted my help with it. I tried refusing, since Natsu and/or Gray would have been better to assist, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. It was an escort mission, helping a caravan get from Hargeon to Wisteria City."

"The job paid heftily and I knew Lucy's rent was coming up," the scarlet haired woman explained, brushing it off nonchalantly. "Natsu and Gray can't choose S-Class missions and Lucy needed something paying high with little chance of property damage. I offered. The job paid out three million jewel, and specifically requested someone strong of mind who could decipher things if needed."

Everyone at the table had their eyes bug out of their skulls at the price, not registering the way the entire guild was getting more and more quiet.

Lucy cleared her throat and attention was drawn back to her. "The caravan was carrying rare, near priceless, and enchanted gemstones- a few of which I had to break the seals off of. They were all much more rare than the ones found in Obstone, if that tells you anything. That aside, Erza and I were expecting mercenaries or bandits or, really, anyone to come except for what did come. The dark guild Night Hawk."

Lisanna paused, her brows furrowing. "Isn't that the guild that beat the Thunder Leijon last year?"

Erza nodded. "Yes. We knew it would be no easy task and I'm ashamed to say I got caught by their magic restraining chains. They had me in a corner. And, to be completely honest, it was the first time I have ever been so scared of anyone. And it wasn't the man that captured me. Lucy… The look in her eyes made me want to _run away_ from her. It was frightening… She looked ready to behead everyone there."

"And I was," she said, her eyes going determined and her tone turning cold. "They _hurt_ you. They whipped Erza, made her scream so violently that the sound still haunts me. You don't hurt my friends, especially not my _sister_."

Everyone in the guild was completely silent now, listening in on their story- even the Master, who had been told by Erza the moment they got back about the whole thing.

"That aside, this was a side of Lucy I had never seen and, quite frankly, I don't want to ever see again. The magic circle she called that showed right above her was larger than any I had ever seen one singular person make before. The power emitting from her…" Erza shivered. "Shook me to my core. She looked like a real monster. That power I would love to see again, but not combined with that _fury_."

Again, the blonde rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I was mad. No, I was _pissed_. I was ready to kill if it resorted to that. I called Taurus, Loke, and Capricorn out without hesitation and took on Taurus' star dress."

"You mean the cowgirl one?" Gray asked, his brows up in astonishment.

"Yeah, that one. You all know that by gaining the star dress, I gain their powers. Leo's gives me the power of Regulus, Aquarius's gives me the power of water, and with Taurus's-"

"She gains _inhuman_ strength," Erza interrupted. "I don't think even Gildarts could stop her rampage in that moment- she was far too gone. Furthermore, I wasn't aware that her whip could do anywhere near the amount of damage that it did. Two swings of it is all it took for her to get rid of the sixty-five foot soldiers while Taurus, Loke, and Capricorn took care of three of the real power houses."

The youngest Strauss's eyes were wide, her pupils dilated in slight fear. "S-Sixty five?!"

Lucy nodded, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of her neck. "Y-Yeah? They came with seventy people… One was holding Erza hostage, my spirits were fighting three others, and I fought the last one…"

Natsu whistled, extremely impressed. "Two swings is all? Damn, Luce, you powered up while I was gone!"

The blonde nodded and shrugged. "What can I say? Emotion drives your magic and I was beyond furious…"

"Anyway!" Juvia interrupted the side conversation. "Go on, finish the story!"

"I will, since Lucy will probably leave out a few details," Erza said, excited that everyone was listening to her out of interest instead of fear. "So Lucy put her whip back on her belt and, I'll be honest here, I didn't think Lucy was good at hand to hand combat. But, she blocked every punch the guy sent her way and sent them back to him twice as strong. When he jumped back to get his magic ready, she pulled her whip out and _ohhh_ I want her whip so bad."

Lucy laughed loudly and shook her head. "No, Erza, it only does that in Taurus's star dress. The end of my whip became the head of his battle ax when I extended it. It's one of the spells that boosts my power even more, but takes a _lot_ of magic to do."

"She took him down with _one swing_ ," the scarlet haired mage said, her eyes sparkling in admiration of the weapon used to do so. "The the whip returned to normal and I thought she was attacking me when she attacked the guy holding me there. The next thing I knew, he was caught up by her whip and being tossed left and right and smacked against every surface there while ensnared by her."

"I kind of broke the side of the cliff with his head…" The celestial mage admitted sheepishly. "By the time I was done with him, Loke, Taurus, and Capricorn had finished off the other three. I thanked them and they went home while I got Erza out of the ropes. We tied up the members and called the council in to come and detain them."

"Needless to say, that day I got to see Lucy in a new light," Erza said with a nod, crossing her arms and smiling like she was proud of something.

Gray laughed and patted the blonde's back. "You know, if it were anyone else, I wouldn't believe the story. But Erza doesn't lie."

Natsu stood, the fire on his hands quickly heating up the area around them. "LUCE! FIGHT ME!"

The ice mage then stood, the black mark on his left arm reappearing as his side of the room began getting more and more frigid. "Calm down, flame brain, there's no way she wouldn't be able to wipe the floor with your stupid ass!"

Natsu knocked his head against Gray's, their eyes locking and sparks of anger and rivalry flying. "You want to test that thought, princess?"

"You want a taste of the Devil's breath?" His tone was just as menacing as the dragon slayer's.

Lucy huffed and crossed her arms. "Calm down you two," she said half heartedly. "I'm sure if I fought either of you, you guys would kick my-"

"I'm not sure I could defeat you, let alone these two," Erza said, her finger and thumb holding her own chin in thought.

"DON'T SPUR THEM ON!" Lucy shouted, eyes wide.

Murmurs then broke out across the guild, some shouting bets on who would win while others argued their ideas on how the battle would go down. Erza then nodded and slammed her fist on her open palm. "That's it! How about a tag team brawl? Lucy and I against Natsu and Gray."

"Alright! I'm all fired up now!"

"I'm down with this," Gray said, his smile growing into a near feral smirk.

Lucy slammed her forehead against the table, whining in defeat. " _I don't wannaaaaa!_ "


	3. The Kickoff

_**Author's Note** : WHOOPS. GUESS WHO MISSED A DAY._

 _Welp. Things are finally moving along more in the story, though the actual RoLu moments won't fully begin until the next chapter. And, to the dearest **Tiger Priestess** and your question, no he doesn't. He won't until.. Well.. A later chapter. c; You'll **know** the same moment he knows- or rather, you'll know the moment he realizes it, anyway. He's kind of bad with emotions, so T: _

_All that aside, again I'd like to thank you all for all the love and support this story has gotten so far- even if it is starting off a bit on the slower side. qwq you guys are the absolute best and I hope I can continue to hold your attention and interest. Anyway, enough of my sappiness... Onto chapter three!_

* * *

 _ **The Kickoff**_

To say that the guild was surprised was an extreme understatement. Freed had set up a rune barrier for a sort of arena and Laki had used her wood make magic to create stands for everyone to sit comfortably in, a few yards away from the edge of the barrier and high enough up that everyone was able to see the whole psuedo-arena. The two slayers- dragon and devil- were panting heavily, cuts and bruises and scratches marring their bodies while the two women hardly had any damage to them- though they were panting too.

Lucy had out Aries, Virgo, and Sagittarius while in her Sagittarius Star Dress, her hands holding her bow closely. Erza was in her Flame Empress armor and she held her sword at the ready. The scarlet woman glanced back at her teammate and raised a brow at her. Lucy nodded and stood back to back with the woman.

"What the hell are they planning," Gray whispered lowly.

"A Unison Raid," Natsu answered, his eyes narrowing.

"Their magic is starting to combine," Gray groaned out. "This isn't good. We can't do that... But we can do a dual breath attack."

"Right, let's go!"

The slayers dashed forward, Gray's black mark growing in size and his eye glowing as he and Natsu both took in a massive breath to prepare for their spells. Erza and Lucy watched as Virgo raised the earth to create a wall and Aries reinforced it with layers of her wool to absorb more of the impact.

" _ICE DEVIL'S RAGE!_ "

" _FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!_ "

The two magics swirled around one another in an awe inspiring vortex of burning lava and a freezing geyser, hitting and shattering the defensive wall made. Virgo and Aries had taken Lucy and Erza's previous spots- without their consent, mind you- taking the hit while Lucy shouted after them. Now angry that her friends had hurt her spirits- though she shouldn't have been, she was still very worried about their well beings- the magic power the two women were emitting grew.

"Damnit!" Natsu yelled, fire consuming his fists as he threw himself forward.

Gray's eyes widened. "Get back you dumbass!"

" _ARROW RAIN!_ "

" _CIRCLE SWORD!_ "

"NATSU, YOU ASS!" Gray slid up to where Natsu was and quickly casted a shield to block the massive circle of swords from hitting them both. The fire mage turned his attention skyward, where a massive amount of arrows were coming down and released another breath attack, trying to incinerate them. It worked- well, for a good amount of them. Only a handful actually came down on them, and only an even smaller percentage of them actually hit their mark.

Still, they had taken much more damage than the women had. Things weren't looking good for the men.

Lucy's eyes were reminiscent of the day she and Erza took their mission together. Her anger at her friends for possibly severely harming her spirits combined with her anger towards her spirits for making themselves to be shields- like she never wanted anyone to do. Ever. She plucked Erza's flame sword from her hand and cocked it in her bow, the scarlet mage smiling as she took a step back. The celestial mage infused her own magic into the sword- infusing hers with the magic Erza was still putting into the sword- and it looked as though the now-flaming sword's flames were made of spacial nebulae. The black and blue and purple and pink flames looked speckled with stars, like the flames themselves were giving them a glimpse of the deepest of outer space's territory.

"Arcane Bolt," she said sternly, releasing the sword as it left the bow and began spinning, the starry flames growing in size.

The men ducked out of the way and, even though the ice shield was tripled in thick layers, the sword still split through it and shattered it as though it were nothing more than paper. The sword landed in the dirt where the two males previously stood and the starry flame looked like it dissipated before a bright light shone right above the sword's hilt.

"Supernova Explosion!" Lucy yelled, the bright light exploding where it was and sending an incredible shock wave of pure magic power in everyone's direction, sending Gray and Natsu flying backwards- as they were the closest. Though she hoped the two would be a little closer to the explosion, it still did enough. It wasn't enough to knock them out, but it was damn close and more than enough to make them both take a knee from exhaustion.

The blonde mage panted heavily, her shoulders sagging. Erza smiled widely. "Let's call it good here."

The fire mage screamed in anger. "NO!"

Gray grunted and stood. "Natsu, listen to Erza! She's still standing, we're almost out of magic, and Lucy looks like she has at _least_ one more attack in her- if not more! Do you really think we can take on Erza- _and Lucy_ \- when we're almost out ourselves?!"

The man spoken to groaned loudly and punched the ground. "Damnit!"

The guild cheered in response to this and the barrier was taken down, the two male mages admitting defeat to the hands of the women.

"Just goes to show that the women of Fairy Tail are the _real_ monsters," commented Laxus.

"Yeah, no joke," Bickslow said, eyes wide.

Erza and Lucy both approached the men, holding their hands out to help them up. "You know," the red head started, "if it hadn't of been for how well Lucy was able to mesh her magic with mine and strategize with everything I did, we probably wouldn't have ended this way."

Gray nodded, grabbing Erza's hand and standing. "I noticed that she backed you up more often than actually attacking."

"At least till the end," Natsu commented, taking Lucy's hand to stand. "Seriously, Luce, that spell you did with Erza's sword probably could have tore through me and Ice Princess as easy as that shield!"

"Well," she said, trying to control her breathing, "you weren't the only one training like crazy when Fairy Tail disbanded for that year, you know~ Capricorn, Virgo and Leo should be the ones you compliment, not me," she said in a slightly embarrassed manner.

"Nonsense!" Erza said, clapping her back hard enough to make the blonde have to take a step forward. "They get stronger when _you_ get stronger."

The rune mage then came forward with an urgent look in his eyes- almost looking pained. "Lucy, you have an urgent message from Sabertooth.."

Erza held her hand out to take it for the tired celestial mage, but the green haired man refused with a shake of his head. He wasn't even holding it to hand it over to the woman.

"Where?" Lucy panted out after thanking Sagittarius and sending him back to the Spirit World to recuperate and check on Virgo and Aries for her.

He closed his eyes. "In the guild hall. It's enchanted to shock anyone who isn't you that touches it. I was able to carry it to the master's office, but that's only because I'm used to Laxus's magic."

She nodded in return and took a deep breath. "I'll go get it."

"Let me heal you first," Wendy called out, racing to the battlefield. "I can't heal all of you completely, but I can make it easier for you to walk at least.. I learned a new spell to help with stamina, maybe that will help!"

* * *

"All right, child, read it to me," Makarov said as the celestial mage shut the door behind her and walked carefully up to his desk.

Lucy looked at the letter and broke the wax seal, opening it up but eyeing it strangely. He seemed to stay a ways away from the letter- though if it were enchanted to shock everyone but her, it made sense. Still... "Why out loud?"

He smiled sadly at her. " _Master_ Sting already called. I know what this is about and I want to hear it from your mouth. Perhaps it will also fill in the gaps he wasn't able to tell me."

Lucy's brows went up in question but she simply nodded and took a breath before she began reading.

" _Lucy,_

 _I know it's weird for me to send you a letter to the guild hall when I have your address, but this is urgent. Something is wrong with Pisces and I can't seem to force their gate closed. I want to ask your help. I need your help to close their gate and help me find out what exactly is wrong. I know you can help me more than anyone else... And I need that. Please, I beg you, come help me... Just you, though... I don't want Natsu fighting Sting or Gray fighting Rufus… And Erza would only scare everyone more..._

 _I know I'm asking a lot and you probably still don't trust us enough to come alone but I haven't even told my guild about the issue because I don't want people thinking I'm weak. So please._

 _Your Friend,_

 _Yukino."_

The little master had a shadow covering his eyes and a frown marring his lips. Lucy's hands were shaking violently, barely being able to hold the paper between her fingers without letting it fall. Her eyes were wide and teary and she stood, shocked into stillness. She barely noticed the Master grabbing his communication lacrima.

"Child, go to your friend. I will let your team know I sent you on a personal mission... And I'll call to ask Sting about how he knew about her dilemma if she has yet to tell him."

"Thank you," she mumbled, running out of the guild hall to her house to grab a few personal items first. If Yukino- her friend- needed her, she would be there. No matter how shitty she felt. She just beat up her friends in a fun, friendly battle... She knew her magic pool was suffering from the two spells she casted at the end and her breathing was still a little shaky even with Wendy's spell. But, most of all, she just got four of her close friends badly hurt. Gray, Natsu, Virgo, Aries... All because of her.

She did nothing but fuck up.

But she wouldn't allow that to cloud her judgement. _No_ , a friend _needed_ her.

* * *

Lucy soon found herself running at full speed towards the Sabertooth guild hall. It was a three hour train ride to the right city and another hour and a half of _running_ and _running_ to the guild hall in question... But she couldn't stop. Mountain or no moutain. Especially not since her eyes went wide at what she saw as she ran up the path; Yukino stood outside in front of Pisces, looking very distraught and on the verge of crying. Lucy couldn't quite tell, though, from this distance. She was getting tired, her legs were screaming at her to stop and take a breather, but she refused to. Yukino needed her and she was right there, fighting her own spirit, and Lucy refused to back down now.

She was able to see the mother of the twin fish race forward towards the tigress and deliver a punch that looked excruciatingly painful from this angle. Panic flooded over the blonde as she watched her friend stumble backwards.

"YUKINO!" She shouted, drawing the attention of the spirit and the girl. She saw the light blue haired woman's mouth move and Pisces suddenly dashed towards her in their human forms- the son racing forward in front of his mother.

Grumbling, she brought out Leo to fight, who then looked like he was fighting something in his head. Worry consumed her for only a second before the son punched her and sent her flying back. Panting, exhausted, and using up _even more_ magic rapidly, Lucy took on Loke's star dress and went forward to fight the son. She was having a tough time fighting those two off and it was only going to get worse. First Natsu and Gray exhausted her, then she regained some of her health and stamina from Wendy and the train ride- only to literally run the entire way to Sabertooth... And now another fight.

It didn't look like she was going to get a break any time soon, and her body was already _screaming_ at her to stop.

"Lucy!" Yukino screamed. "Behind you!"

Lucy delivered one regulus punch to the son and he stumbled back, gold light shimmering from his cheek. He looked up at her with wide eyes as she quickly spouted an apology and delivered the same punch to the mother. This forced both of the duo back to the spirit world as she shouted an apology their way. The star dress was then gone, confusing her greatly, and Leo was right behind her, his fist reared. She turned to see Loke like he was about to hit her and her brown eyes went wide.

He looked like he was fighting himself. Her hands went to his cheeks and her tone of voice was pleading. "Loke! Loke no, please! Fight it! Fight whatever this is! You can't let it take over you!"

He narrowed his eyes at her, like he was offended, and his fist came back a little more- but she noticed it was shaking. She rushed and grabbed her key. "Force gate closure!" She screamed, though it did nothing. He was still there, hands shaking. And, in that moment, she realized that he wasn't about to hit _her_... It looked like he was about ready to punch _himself_.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and disappeared back to the spirit world faster than she could realize what he said.

The other celestial mage ran up to the blonde, checking her for hurt areas, though all she found was Lucy panting heavily. "Are you okay?"

Lucy laughed. "I should be asking you that."

"I'm fine," she answered honestly, "but you seem exhausted…"

She coughed violently and shook her head. "I just used _way_ too much magic power today is all," she stated, brushing off Yukino's worry like it was nothing. "I'm okay, I prom-"

"Don't finish that word," the blue haired lass said sternly. "Don't break a promise."

The blonde tilted her head in question. She knew internally that it would be a lie, but how did Yuki know that? "What?" She asked, trying to play it off.

It was then that more footsteps were heard.

"My my, little rose, I didn't think you'd spill the truth this swiftly," a familiar voice stated and Lucy whipped around to see Rufus Lore walking their way. "I remember you saying you were going to draw this out. I do not believe my memory is failing me."

The lass sighed heavily. "I would have... But Leo ruined it," she said, pouting like a child as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Ruined it? Ruined what?"

Rufus let out a calculated laugh, extending his hand to the guest of Sabertooth. "Come, let's go inside."

"Wait-"

"Yeah," Yuki said, "we'll explain in there. But you have to promise me you won't run off!"

Lucy sighed, closed her eyes and took Rufus's hand. "I promise. I swear, first Levy is acting weird and now you are… Is it just me or are my friends complete bozos?"

Yukino huffed indignantly, sticking her tongue out at both blondes as they laughed together, walking in the guild's doors. The guild hall was bustling with conversations everywhere, though it still wasn't as loud as one of Fairy Tail's "quiet" moments. Lucy glanced around, taking note of just how polished everything seemed to be. Crystal clean, everyone's conversations coming out smoothly, laughter being heard from across the way... It seemed serene.

Yet Lucy couldn't seem to catch her breath, even after she sat down at the bar.

Rufus released her hand and went around to the inside of the bar, excusing Dobengal from his station, and retrieved their guest a tall glass of water. His eyes sparkled in amusement as he watched her gulp it down as though she had been parched for days. When the glass was emptied, he refilled it and returned it to her and she took a few more sips before deciding she had enough for the moment.

"If you don't mind me asking, before we delve into the topic your were asking of, why you seem so tired?" He asked as he was filling a mug that was slid down the bar to another guild member.

She took another deep breath and leaned forward on the bar in utter exhaustion. "I've never had to do so much in one day…" she whined out. "First Natsu and Gray challenge me to a fight, then I run all the way here and I had to fight again-"

"Natsu and Gray? Why would they challenge you?" Yukino asked, her head tilted.

Lucy sighed- _again_. "Erza just _had_ to tell them about the Night Hawk incident."

"The dark guild? I remember they were restrained and brought to captivity a while back." The curious look behind the mask was enough to tell Lucy that he wasn't letting her get away from that subject without the full story. So, she told him. She told them what Titania said about her, what she saw, and all about the fight that had happened between the team. The two seemed thoroughly impressed by the end of the long story.

"Now hold up your end of the deal. What's going on?" Lucy demanded, her eyes narrowing.

Yukino laughed dryly. "Well... I got a letter from Levy telling me about your retreating time and how it's been a while and you still weren't doing too well. She said you missed me so we thought it would be a good idea for you to stay a week here!"

"We were well aware that you would not simply come for no apparent reason, so we had Yukino and Rogue speak with Levy and Gajeel. They set up an elaborate scheme with the spirits, though I must say, we were not expecting you to use Leo," the male finished.

Lucy felt her brow twitch in irritation. "I'm honored that you care, but you _lied_ to me?!"

Yukino held her hands up in defense. "C-Come on, Lucy! I just wanted you to feel better, I swear! I never meant any harm!"

She sighed loudly and slammed her forehead against the counter, causing the other celestial mage to flinch and Rufus to look at their guest in great worry. "You could have just asked," she mumbled against the wood.

The memory mage huffed. "You are as aware as I that you would not have left for a week just for yourself. You're not like that."

As much as she wanted to fight them, she couldn't. He was right. She would have denied them because she knew it was for her mental health and she wouldn't want to burden them for something as silly as that. Brooding about the issue wasn't going to help her either. With her face still against the wood, she realized something very important. " _Shit_!" She said, shooting up.

"Lucy!" Yukino scolded, playfully. "I didn't know you had a foul mouth, too!"

"Blame my guild," she brushed off. "I can't stay for the week! The lunar eclipse is in five days!"

The two Sabertooth mages tilted their heads and were about to both speak when a loud voice interrupted that.

" _OH YES YOU WILL!_ "

The blonde jumped and hastily pulled her Lacrima out of her pocket, the image of an angry Gajeel meeting her gaze. "I can't leave-"

" _Yes. You. Can._ " His demanding tone sent shivers down her spine. " _Freed's got it covered this time. You worry about your own damn self for once._ "

"Listen, metal head-"

" _No, **you** listen, Bunnygirl, I ain't gonna say it more than once. Y'er gonna plant your ass there and ya ain't comin' back 'till you feel better! It don't matter if that's one week or four fuckin months! Your ass ain't comin back till then! We got Freed, but they ain't got jack shit there. Levy's worried herself sick- literally- and Master knows what's up. He knew the letter was a fake. Get your ass in gear and get better, else I'm comin after ya **again** for making the Shrimp sick._ "

And the line was disconnected.

That was probably the most she's ever heard Gajeel talk in one go and it worried Lucy greatly. She let out a hefty sigh. No one was supposed to know about that.

"I heard Gajeel," a familiar voice said from the doors of the guild. A voice that sent a small, unseen shiver down her spine.

Lucy turned around with Yukino to see Sting, Rogue, Minerva and Orga standing in the doorway. Sting rushed in and was quickly seated next to Yukino while the other three calmly entered.

"The Fairy is here!" Lector shouted, running as fast as his little legs could carry him towards her.

"Fro thinks so too!" said the little exceed sitting on Rogue's shoulder.

"We couldn't turn them down when they told us what was going on," Minerva said, sitting next to the blonde. "Yukino and I have a lot of movies, so if you want to binge watch anything we're set." She smiled at the blonde.

"Thanks," she answered, a smile of her own showing on her face. "Right now, I just need to go book a hotel room, I guess." Lector had lifted himself up and sat on the table in front of her, playing with her hand idly- not that she minded in the least bit.

"Not needed!" Sting shouted, leaning on the bar to look down at their guest. "Minerva has an extra room, so you can stay with her!"

The woman felt a sweat drop appear on her forehead. "I think she should be the one to offer that..."

Orga laughed, patting the celestial mage on the back. "I'd offer ya my extra room, but I think you'd be more comfortable with another woman. Yukino's got Sting bargin in on her every five seconds, so we thought Minerva's place would be the next best!"

Lucy smiled sweetly at the massive man behind her. "To be honest, if I'm vacationing here, I'd just like to be somewhere close to the guild... But I don't want to impose on anyone..."

The territory mage crossed her arms and raised her brows. "That rules out my place, then. I live on the outskirts of town."

Rufus nodded. "As do I. Orga and Rogue live the closest."

Rogue put his finger to his chin in thought. "Are you a morning person?"

She bit her lower lip and nodded. "I wake up sometime around seven every morning."

"Hah! That settles it! I'll go get my guest bedroom set up," Orga said with a proud smile.

The blonde lass rolled her eyes. "I don't consider that a deciding factor..." If anything, she would just say she didn't want to burden anyone but she had different reasons for saying that.

Yukino smirked and leaned forward. "Orga has the larger bathtub." When she saw the way Lucy's back got just a little straighter, she beamed in happiness. "It's custom since he can't fit into most baths. It even has those jets built in~" she cooed.

Sting and Rogue looked at Lucy in question, wondering why that subject was brought up while Minerva was smirking along with Yukino. Rufus let out a soft chuckle and Orga tilted his head in confusion.

Lucy looked back at the teal-haired man, a new sparkle in her eyes. "S-So... You don't mind me staying with you?"

And everything clicked in place for the Saber crew. Laughter was heard, echoing off of the walls and bouncing back, confusing the mass majority of the other mages. The Fairy blushed heavily, hating how easily she was swayed, but the others didn't seem to mind at all. Orga patted her back again.

"I don't mind, short stack. I'll go get it ready for ya. Where's your bag?"

She blinked twice and if she could blush harder, she would. "Um.. Outside... I kinda dropped it when I was getting ready to fight..."

The large male laughed again. "Right. I won't touch your stuff, but I'll put in your room. I'll be back in an hour or two ta get ya."

Once Orga was gone, Rufus leaned in and smiled that stupid smile he did when he wanted information. Levy had that same kind of look on her face, so Lucy knew what was up.

"So you nearly beat Natsu and Gray, yes?"

The blonde sighed and nodded. "Yeah. But only because Erza was my teammate."

Yukino gasped and slammed her hand so hard on the bar it startled everyone. "You have _got_ to teach me that thing you did!" Lucy tilted her head in question but wasn't able to voice her confusion. "That thing with the clothes and the punch and everything!"

The Fairy thought back and it dawned on her. "Oh! The star dress?"

"Yes! That!"

"Well, there's a story behind that... But we can try at a later date and see if it works..."


	4. The First Night

_**Author's Note** : Okay I actually have a reason for missing Sunday's posting. None of the recent comments were showing up so I had no idea what anyone had said or anything to that effect and augh. It was torture knowing y'all left feedback but I wasn't able to see it. I can see them now though!~ That aside... We should get back to regular, every-day updates. You guys have no idea how excited I am for this chapter- nor how much you all should be excited for the ones to come. c;_

 _Anywho! On with the show!_

* * *

 _ **The First Night**_

Lucy sighed with a happy smile on her face. She was more than happy to find that when they returned to Orga's house, he already had a bath drawn for her. He had a few eucalyptus candles burning in the room for her along the bath as well. When she brought up why he had done this, his answer was simple.

"Y _a looked tired as hell. Eucalyptus has them soothin things to it, so I added a little oil to the bath and lit ya a few candles so you can relax. I may be a man but I know what ya ladies like and I know how to sooth sore muscles. I roomed with Minerva for a year. I remember that shit._ "

She smiled and sunk even lower into the water, the bubbles in the bath reaching her nose while the jets worked their magic on her aching and tense muscles. His bathtub was absolutely huge, being large enough to probably fit Lucy, Yukino, Cana, Erza, _and_ Minerva all with plenty of room to move around and relax. It made sense, though, since he was so huge. It was probably big enough for two Orgas to fit in here as well, though she didn't think twice about something like that.

Mostly because she heard a loud banging on the bathroom door.

"Lucy! We're coming in!"

The blonde looked up, quickly covering her bust as Yukino and Minerva both entered the room as though it were a regular occurrence. "WHAT THE HELL GUYS!"

Yukino laughed lightly. "We shared a bath at your house, why not here too?"

"Awwww come on! I get this enough from Cana and Erza!" She whined.

Minerva was the first to strip down and join her in the tub. "Ohhhh, now I remember why I miss bunking with the lightning lug," she moaned out as she sunk into the waters.

"Really? You miss it? Why?" Yukino asked, stripping out of her clothes.

"He always makes up the best baths~"

The three girls were soon relaxing in the bath, talking about a little of everything and a little of nothing all at the same time. Laughter was heard every so often, apologies were said, gossip was heard, and they sat there for a good twenty or thirty more minutes just _talking_ because they could. Minerva apologized for what felt like the twentieth time to Lucy about the games- which she brushed off yet again. They spoke about Yukino's mate mark- just above her left nipple- and the _juicy_ details about the night in which she got it. Furthermore, the two tigresses attempted to get Lucy to talk about what's been ailing her. She brushed it off as stress from a little of everything and the way she worded it made it seem like all she wanted to do was forget about it. So, they didn't press further. Once they were all pruney, they left the bath and found the towels.

Each of them giggled at each other's pajamas. Yukino had a light blue tank top and white pajama pants with little blue stars all over them and a pair of fish slippers- courtesy of Pisces for her last birthday. Minerva's were like Erza's sword pajamas, though hers was decorated with little tigers instead of swords. It was rather adorable to see the woman in a light teal pajama set covered with her guild's mascot. And, it was then that Yukino told the other celestial mage that they were a Christmas gift from Orga. Lucy's was just a pair of black fluffy pajama pants with golden stars on them and a black tank top with lion slippers given to her for _her_ birthday by Loke.

Yukino commented about how _that had_ to be the idea behind her own slippers.

Once the water was drained, the girls were clothed, and they had towels wrapped around their hair, the group of three returned to the living room to see something they didn't expect.

The guys.

Of course they expected Orga to be there- it was his house after all, but they were all certain that the other men were still at the guild where they were left behind at in the first place.

Rogue (with Frosch in his arms) and Orga sat on the couch, Rufus had occupied the recliner, and Sting sat on the love seat with the spot next to him obviously saved for the older of the celestial mages (and Lector sitting on the back of the piece of furniture). Minerva raced to the couch and wiggled her way between the two men on it (Rogue to her right, the ogre to her left) while Yukino took her seat beside Sting.

Lucy stood there for a moment, realizing that this is how their usual seats were... It was just like in her own apartment where all of Team Natsu had their own designated seats. She smiled warmly and went over to look through the lacrima in the bag that Minerva had brought.

"Would you like to take this seat, Lucy?" Rufus asked, realizing they had left no room for her to sit.

She shook her head and looked back at him. "I'm good! I'll go get-"

"Princess, I've brought your things," Virgo said, now standing right in front of Lucy. The latter of the two screamed and fell back on her rear. "Did I startle you, Princess? Is it punishment time?"

"GO HOME ALREADY!" The blonde's yell did not affect the spirit at all.

"Big Brother wanted me to check on you. I see you're wearing his gift."

"Why does that stupid cat want to know about me?!"

"Lucy, you hurt me!" Loke said, peeking out of the room that would be Lucy's for the time she was here, a bright blush on his cheeks. It was obvious that his pride- and ego- only seemed to inflate at the knowledge that she actually _used_ his gift. The last time they had spoken about it, she got defensive and said they were just collecting dust in her closet- not that he initially believed her... But seeing only made it more concrete.

The wizard let out another whine and covered her face again. "Why can't you guys leave me alone for once?"

"But Princess, Sagittarius said you were worried about me and Aries. We wanted to let you know we are back in good health." Virgo said doing her strange dance that made the chains on her wrists dangle and clang.

"That's a relief." She said, smiling up at her friend, her sour mood seemingly forgotten. "I was worried that double breath attack would be too much for you."

Loke laughed and shook his head. "We get stronger when _you_ get stronger, Lucy. That breath did little to nothing. That aside," he said, crouching down to eye level with her, "how are _you_ doing? You exhausted yourself pretty badly today."

She laughed and shook her head. "I'm doing better. A little sore, but much better."

"Good. I'm here for you, but I have a meeting with Aries to get to."

Just like that, he left in a burst of shimmering light. Virgo looked down at her in an almost disapproving manner. Without word, she left to the room that Lucy would be occupying for the time being and an awkward (and highly confusing) silence fell over the occupants in the living room. Exactly forty five seconds later, she came back with a black bean bag with golden stars on it and plopping it down in the middle of the room. "Is it punishment time yet, Princess? I have a new whip if you'd like-"

"GO HOME!"

A small laugh escaped the spirit before her face returned to its stolid state. "Yes, Princess. Have fun," she said, leaving the same way Loke did.

Yukino laughed lightly. "Your spirits seem like a handful."

"Fro thinks so too!"

"Tell me about it," she grumbled like she was annoyed, though the smile on her face gave away her true feelings.

Minerva laughed and shook her head. "Come on and pick a movie already!"

"Yeah, Fairy-san!" Lector shouted happily.

"Alright alright!"

Lucy tossed out most of the action movies, feeling like her life was actiony enough without a movie trying to give her the same feeling. People going head first into some sort of danger to rescue others or do the right thing? Isn't that the typical life of a mage- or were the members of Fairy Tail (more specifically, members of Team Natsu) special cases? She went through the romance movies, tossing them to the side as well because she would not be able to handle the teasing that would come from the guys. Well, that would definitely come from Sting and Orga. Rufus didn't seem like the type to poke fun about something as insignificant as a movie- but who knows. He might have. She finally pulled out a comedy and a musical- both were movies that she knew well. "Which one first?"

Orga smiled widely at her decisions. "The musical!"

Sting groaned. "You just had to choose the one he'd _sing_ along to."

So Lucy put that one on. During the movie, loud and off-tune singing was heard not only from Orga, but Lucy joined him and made everyone groan and laugh all the same. Certain parts had Fro clapping along and, eventually, the green exceed came down to coddle Lucy and sing with her. When slower song came on and Orga's singing, after that, got quieter- and everyone noticed this. Lucy stopped singing after that point altogether, as the rest of the songs were songs that she'd sing literally and she didn't want to do that when the mood was so light. When the movie was over, they turned on the comedy and, even if it was rather hilarious, Lucy and Minerva (and Frosch) were soon out like lights.

When the second movie was finally over, Orga groaned as he stretched towards the ceiling, looking around at his living room. Sting had picked up Yukino and Lector and, with Rufus holding the door open, the four were headed out of the house. He looked over to Rogue, who was getting up and stretching himself, letting Frosch sleep a little longer on the bean bag with Lucy. Minerva, with both him and Rogue now standing, was laying out on the couch and Lucy was curled up with the exceed in her arms, shivering lightly.

Rogue huffed and stalked to Lucy's room, motioning for Orga to follow him. "Where did you put the blankets?"

Orga turned the light on and looked over at the bed, noticing a bedspread that looked like outer space. "Well, that spirit must have brought that because it ain't mine."

"And this one," he picked up the white blanket folded at the end of the bed. "Is this one yours?"

"Yeah, it is. You want to stay over, too? Since the girls got that place, you can chill in here."

The black haired man shook his head. "I'm good. It's not that long of a walk to my place. Besides, I'm fairly certain Lucy would wake up with the worst pain from sleeping on that bean bag chair."

"Alright, but don't think I didn't offer."

Rogue smiled and handed Orga the white blanket, who then went back to the living room with it and one of the pillows from the bed. With the god slayer out of the room, the dragon slayer inhaled deeply. Now, he was no creep, but he had been trying to place her scent all day and now that he had a second to himself, he thought it a good time to figure it out. The first two times they had ever been around one another, he had been too ignorant to place _exactly_ what that scent was... And he was _going_ to place it now.

It was sweet, but tangy. And it smelled like she used soaps that actually complimented her natural scent, which was rare. Minerva smelled spicy and should use something like a foresty scent but she used one that smelled like citrus and it clashed. Rufus was the same way, as he smelled naturally… Floral, for lack of a better word, yet he used a cologne that smelled like disgusting musk and nearly suffocated him. The scent _and_ the amount of it that he put on. It didn't seem to bother anyone other than Rogue and Sting, though.

But Lucy… Lucy smelled like…

He took a deeper breath.

Honey. Like a beach. Coconuts. Like… Something otherworldly. Something dark, yet light. The scent wasn't placed to one exact thing, but the closest he could think of was the slightly salty scent of the beach at night, after all people had left. A tropical beach, though, as there was still that hint of honey and coconut- and even something that smelled a little like mangoes. Perhaps her scent would be comparable to that scene, or if you were to watch the dusk or dawn on that beach. Or if a full moon were just too close to the world and seemed bigger than life, illuminating the darkness. It smelled serene, in a way that he wouldn't be able to put to exact words.

And _damn_ did it smell wonderful.

Before Orga could begin to question him, he stepped out of the room and noticed that Minerva had already been tucked in. The footsteps told him that the owner of the house was now in his own bedroom, though, and Rogue exhaled. Carefully, the dragon slayer picked up the sleeping blonde in a way that made her stir slightly but she stayed asleep. The black haired man figured he was giving off heat- especially from the way she turned and snuggled closer to him as he carried her. Frosch had stirred and woke long enough to climb up Rogue's torso to go back to sleep on his shoulders. The black haired man's nose crinkled, mentally noting how _horribly_ the smell of eucalyptus clashed with Lucy's natural scent, but ignored it for the moment.

He gently laid her in the bed and pulled the covers up around her, tucking her in and smiling gently at how peaceful she seemed.

"Nnn..." the woman exhaled, her brows furrowing slightly. He froze, fearing her to wake and see him just standing over her like some sort of creep even though he had literally _just_ got done tucking her in. "...Ro..gue..." she mumbled in her sleep, nuzzling against the pillow and falling only deeper into sleep.

With a blazing fire lit across his cheeks (no, seriously, his face was so hot he was certain he was going to get dizzy soon) the slayer raced out of the room and out of the house altogether.

* * *

" _What are you doing here?" A voice said, bringing her back from her wandering thoughts. Lucy looked over to the black haired man in the otherwise empty cafe and smiled gently as she carefully approached._

" _Trying to find you," she said in earnest._

 _Rogue's expression seemed confused and thoroughly perplexed. His ruby eyes seemed like they were carefully thinking over the statement she had just made and it was like a light bulb went off in his head._ " _...Okay then… So you're-"_

" _Yeah," she interrupted, trying to stop him from reminding her._

" _It's true then.. That the guild..."_

" _Yeah... It is. But enough of that. Have a seat," she said, motioning back to the table he had stood up from when he saw her enter._

" _After you."_

* * *

The next morning, Lucy woke up at the crack of dawn, a blush on her cheeks at the memory she dreamed of. It took her a moment to realize she was even awake, but when she did, it was like things started crashing down around her. First, there was a slight panic as she looked at the white walls- definitely not her own. The sun was starting to peek through the window as it barely touched the horizon and it was in the far corner of the room. Not next to her bed. She sat up abruptly, her brown eyes wide as she looked around and, after a good five minutes, _finally_ remembered what happened the day before.

Lucy got up from the bed and walked out of the room, peeking around the house to see if anyone else was awake. It was then that she noticed Minerva still asleep on the couch and heard a semi-loud snoring coming from somewhere further back in the house. She smiled softly, walked out completely, and went to work in the kitchen. Anything to distract her from that memory...

 _"If anything is ever bothering you or you just need to talk, here's my lacrima number. I'll listen, okay?"_

Even as she whisked the white gravy in the pan, she was still thinking of things he said. Things that made her blush. It made her groan softly- still trying not to wake everyone up- and want to bash her head against the side of the refrigerator. She hadn't ever _dreamed_ of that night before... It made her worry a little and question why it had happened last night.. Only a few moments into cooking- since she had a gut feeling to cook a massive amount- Rufus entered the house again with a broad smile on his face.

His eyes widened at Lucy bustling around the kitchen, though she simply offered him a smile in return. "Good morning, Rufus!"

He flashed a real smile at her. "When you said morning person, I wasn't quite expecting this."

She laughed lightly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I fell asleep so early last night that I woke up too early this morning and... Well... I figured making breakfast would be the least I could do."

The memory mage nodded. "Understandable. Sting and Yukino are dropping by Rogue's house to wake him and they'll be over as well. Will there be enough or should I intercept them?"

The woman shook her head and offered a bashful smile, scrambling to think of something to say quickly to stop herself from blushing like a damn school girl at the mention of his fucking name. "I didn't know how much the _walking flesh wall_ eats-" The nickname caused a chuckle to escape the masked man. "-so I ended up making a lot more than I meant to. There should be plenty for everyone."

A loud groan came from the woman on the couch as she began to stir. "What smells good? What did you bring, Rufus?"

"Absolutely nothing," he offered, holding his hands palm-out for her to see. "Miss Lucy is making breakfast."

"So that's what smells great!" Sting yelled as he opened the door.

"It smells really good, Fairy-san! I hope it tastes as good as it smells, or else Sting will have to show how a _real_ chef cooks!" Lector announced.

"Fro thi… F-Fro..." the tired little exceed began, but ended up dozing off again in Rogue's arms.

"I've got coffee!" Lucy offered at seeing how tired the two black haired mages were and, at that statement, Minerva lazily waddled her way into the kitchen, followed by a grumbling Rogue. Both mages made their cups and dragged their feet to the table- Frosch now sitting tiredly on the counter.

"Did you bring breakfast, Rufus?" Orga asked, wiping his eyes as he walked out of the hallway.

"I'm making it," Lucy answered.

He opened his eyes and focused on the blonde before smiling widely. "Alright! That's awesome!"

"Shut up," Minerva growled out, glaring at the loud man over her mug of coffee.

There were only six chairs at the kitchen table, though. Lucy knew this would be a problem and decided that she would skip breakfast today. The blond smiled and, once everyone was seated, she pulled out two pans of biscuits from the oven and placed them on the table, followed by a large pan of gravy, a plate piled high with bacon, a plate filled with hash browns and finally the finally finished plate of scrambled eggs.

After smacking away Sting's hand- that was about to get grabby with the bacon- she brought down six plates and six forks and passed them out with ease. Figuring to keep things a little more simple, she had already created fish-pancakes for the two exceeds that sat on the counter together and brought them over their own plate of breakfast.

Yukino looked up at her with worried eyes. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Lucy shook her head and offered a smile. "I snacked a lot when I was cooking, I'll be fine."

Minerva smiled and patted her leg. "Come on, take a seat~"

The blond laughed and shook her head. "I'll be- whoOP!"

Laughter was heard all around at her shout when Minerva pulled her down onto her leg anyway. "Since you didn't get you a plate, we'll share."

"My my, Milady," Rufus teased, "you're never this physical with anyone."

"Oh yes she is," Yukino said, rolling her eyes at the statement as she pulled a couple of biscuits onto her plate. "You have nooooo idea."

Lucy sighed and stood, only keeping everyone's questions at bay when she reached for a plate for herself. "If last night were to tell me anything, I would say Yuki is right."

Orga choked on the mouth full of eggs and hit himself in the chest a few times to force the bite down. "Holy shit, can we _not_ do that in my house?"

"Wh- NO!" Lucy shouted, gaining laughs from everyone once again.

Minerva laughed the loudest and shook her head. "She's talking about when we were in the bath~"

"Let me repeat; _can you not do that in my house_?"

"Ughhhh," the Fairy groaned loudly, her cheeks heavy with a blush. "No, she and Yuki massaged my back for me. She has magic fingers."

It was the dragons' turn to choke on their food.

"Lucy," the territory mage started, "that did not help your case at all. Now get your ass over here and share this chair with me."

Throughout breakfast, several innuendos and jokes were told and laughs were had. None of the mages suspected they would have so much trouble refraining from choking all morning from the jokes. When they finished up, Rufus offered to clean up, but Lucy adamantly denied him, stating that they needed to get to the guild before something breaks.

It was then that she was reminded that this was Sabertooth, not Fairy Tail.

Minerva and Rogue stayed behind with Lucy, listening to her tales of the ludicrous nonsense that happened daily at her own guild. Orga was going on his morning jog (as he called it, but for her a 20 mile run to start the morning was no _jog_ ). Though they didn't speak much other than a few laughs and hums to show they were still listening, it was relaxing to be able to speak so freely with others.

Sting and Yukino (as well as Lector and Frosch) had already left for the guild- followed a few minutes later by Rufus- and now, after all was cleaned and put away, Orga had come back in only to head toward the bathroom saying he needed a shower to wash off the sweat. Which gained him a ' _gross, I could have gone my whole life without that information_ ' from Lucy. And another round of laughter from both Minerva and Rogue.

And it was in that moment, while the ogre stalked off to the bathroom, that she caught it. That look in Minerva's eyes as they lingered just a moment too long on the teal haired man. Her eyes then returned to Lucy, where a near eat-shit kind of smirk had begun to show on her features. The black haired woman blushed heavily and shook her head- but that didn't stop the smirk.

"You lllliiiiiiiiiiiiike him, don't you Mini~" she said cheekily, rolling her tongue in the same manner Happy did.

The woman groaned and threw her head down against the table in what looked- and sounded- to be a very painful manner. "Don't say anything..?"

"Holy shit," Rogue said under his breath, his ruby eyes going wide. "When did that happen..?"

"...When we first added him to the guild?"

"Is that a question or an answer," Lucy egged on, her smirk turning to a soft smile. "You do know about the little things he does for you, right?"

Rogue just looked up at Lucy in a confused manner while Minerva blanched. "There's nothing he does for me that he doesn't do for the others."

"Uh huh," the blonde said, rolling her eyes. "How he only quieted his singing when you said your head was starting to hurt last night? The way he remembered the eucalyptus for the bath _because you were the one living with him_? Or what about the way he paid special attention to everything you said this morning, not eating while you spoke while he ate when everyone else did? Or-"

"Okay, okay," Minerva rushed out, covering her face with both of her hands.

Rogue then took his turn. "I know he used to do more workouts in the morning... Didn't you complain about him being covered in sweat when you two were roommates? I know he stopped doing some of it to clean up before going to the guild everyday."

Again, the woman's blush only seemed to get worse. "I… I don't know what to do about it, okay?"

"That's easy," Lucy said, her voice lowering in volume just in case the water from the shower stopped soon. "I'll leave with Rogue to go to the guild. You stay behind. If he seems tense at all, offer up a massage."

"I used to do that for him all the time, Lucy, it won't seem like it'll be anything different…"

"But it will, Mini! Listen, it's been a long time since you _have_ done that, right?" After getting a nod from the territory mage, the blonde lass continued. "So he's probably going to ask what brought it up. And, if he doesn't, say something lowkey. Like _I miss doing this_ or _It's been awhile since I've done this, huh_. Lead the conversation like I know you can do, and see if he misses having you as a roommate!"

The other woman bit her lower lip, but the soft smile on her face didn't go unnoticed. "...But if he says yes then-"

"Then I'll stay with Rogue- uh, if that's okay with you, that is," she quickly added, looking to the dragon with hopeful eyes.

Though Lucy didn't know it, his internal dragon was screaming at him to accept and just take her stuff to his own house right in that instance. Her scent drove him crazy and made him feel comfortable and her adorable attitude and demeanor only added to it. He raised his brows like he was thinking it over, but he knew he simply _couldn't_ tell her no.

"I suppose I can dust the spare bedroom," he stated with a smirk, even if that little feeling inside was screaming at him to just make her stay in his room with him.

The smile she sported afterwards, however, silenced that voice. A feeling of immense pride and happiness swept over his being at the fact that _he_ was the one to make her face light up like that.

Lucy turned to Minerva again and placed her hand over the tanner woman's. "You just be yourself. I'll back you up in every way I can, and you can tell me how it goes later. Okay?"

Brown eyes that were nearly black looked into chocolate eyes gratefully. "You're the literal best, Lucy."

"I should be saying that about you guys. Helping me out like this..."

"And yet, even though you're supposed to be relaxing, you're still assisting a friend," the shadow mage said with an adoring look in his eyes. "Truly magnificent- if I can take a second to sound like Rufus."

Lucy brushed off the comment with the wave of her hand and a smile. "I'm going to go finish getting ready to go. I'll be back in a minute or two."

The moment Lucy was gone Minerva whirled on Rogue. "You're talking about my love life here, why don't we pause and talk about _what the actual fuck_ is going on with you around her?"

Rogue stiffened in his chair, knowing where this was headed. He worried the flesh of his lower lip between his teeth and looked off to the side away from her. He knew exactly what she was talking about. Rogue never laughed so openly around anyone new- rather, around anyone that wasn't in their main circle. He never showed emotion nearly as freely with anyone at all, either. Yet, it was beyond difficult for the man to keep up show around Lucy. Perhaps it was that interview that sparked it...

"I'll ask Sting... He should know," was his only answer.

Minerva's jaw dropped and her eyes widened significantly. "You mean _she's_ -"

"Quiet, she's coming back. And honestly, I don't know. I feel the same around you, Sting, and Orga. It may just be a familiarity to her presence, for all I'm positive about."

She raised a brow and whispered, low enough for only him to hear, "hopefully nothing bad happens with what's coming up…"

He groaned and threw his head back, glaring at the ceiling. "I'm restless enough as it is. Don't remind me."

"Remind you of what?" Finally standing before the two tigers, with both of their eyes now on her, the dragon's words caught in his throat. Her hair was left down today and her top was a very low-cut black v-neck shirt that seemed a little tight for a t-shirt. She wore her usual miniskirt- today in black- being held up by a white belt with a pair of brown thigh-high boots as well. Her jacket, also brown, was cropped to end just below her bust. _Man_ , did Rogue love the outfit.

His own colors mixed with the color of her eyes? Not only that, but that godawful eucalyptus (not that it was bad on its own, it just clashed so hard with her natural scent) was gone. Instead, he could smell her perfume- not too strongly, either. It mixed with her scent perfectly, and now she smelled even more like the beach.

"Since Rogue's brain seems to have shut down, I was reminding him of the _event_ coming up." Minerva said, finally snapping him out of his trance.

Lucy smiled softly and nodded. "The Lunar Eclipse, right?" Once the two nodded, Lucy simply shrugged and held her arm out for Rogue to take- not that he needed help standing from his chair in the first place. "We can talk more about it on the way if you like?"

He chuckled softly, his hand ignoring her arm and grabbing her hand instead. "How about something that doesn't remind me of how much I actually depend on these losers?"

"HEY!" Minerva shouted in jest, smiling at the two laughing as they walked their way out of the door.


	5. The Second Couple

_**Author's Note** : All of these amazing reviews make me so happy, guys, you have no idea. _

_It makes me want to work harder on the next chapter every time I read such amazing comments from you guys and it just thrills me to no end to see that you all are liking something that I put so much hard work and effort into. I've been working on this story for about 5 months now on and off (around my college) and decided to upload it on a whim... But seeing the reviews and thoughts from you all, I'm a little saddened that I didn't upload it sooner. From this chapter on, the RoLu is HEAVY for them not being together yet, so be prepared for that!_

 _Again, thank you all so much as I will say every Author's Note until this story is complete. Onto the story!_

* * *

 _ **The Second Couple**_

It wasn't hard to get comfortable around Rogue for Lucy and she found that she was enjoying his company quite a bit. He had a dryly sarcastic sort of humor that made her laugh a little more than she probably should have been at the little quips and comments. Not that she minded. It was like every time she laughed, his eyes sparkled just that much more. It gave her butterflies.

Once they passed a long, one-story house sitting on about two acres of land, he had pointed it out to let her know it was his house. And she smiled fondly at it. It was built like a cabin in the woods would be, and she could even see a little spot for a fireplace. If the outside looked so homely and quaint, she knew the inside must have been just as comfortable- if not more so. If only she could afford to have something like that.

The two continued talking, making snide remarks back and forth for about twenty minutes- about the time it took to walk from Orga's house to Sabertooth. It should have only took about fifteen minutes but, unfortunately enough for her, she wasn't accustomed to walking up the harsh mountain terrain like the others. And once they walked into the guild hall, they were greeted by a round of 'Morning!'s coming from most every mage there.

Rogue said that since Sting was not in the foyer or the lobby area, he must've been in his office doing paperwork as that was the only time Yukino was seen behind the bar like she was. He released his hand from hers only then and bid farewell to help him- after stopping by to pet Frosch and let the little exceed know he was there- and Lucy strode over to the bar and took a seat.

"Sooo~" Yukino cooed as Rufus took a seat next to the blonde woman. "What was that hand holding I saw there?~"

And the blonde celestial mage froze slightly. "I-I don't remember-"

"Oh, but I do," Rufus interrupted, his hat covering his eyes as he pushed his mask up a little as though they were glasses. "And I remember all."

She bit her lower lip and rolled her eyes. "How about we ignore that little bit- because I honestly don't know what that was about- and talk about what's about to go down~"

Yukino raised a brow. "What do you mean you don't know?"

The blonde woman shrugged. "Just as I said. I don't know… I know he took my hand when we left but as for why, I have no idea.." Again, she rolled her eyes. "And, again, let's talk about something I _do_ know and understand."

Rufus let out a near cynical chuckle. "Alright, humor us. What did you find out that is, apparently, about to- as you put it- _go down_?"

Lucy smirked and curled her finger, motioning for the two to lean in closer. "I gave Minerva the push she needed."

Yukino dropped the glass she was holding- causing it to shatter on the floor and the guildhall went silent. Less than two seconds later she let out the most massive squeal Lucy had ever heard- and it almost reminded her of Mirajane. Rufus' eyes were wider than she had ever seen anyone's eyes before and his smile grew large and very excited. Not something he would ever show anyone- but it was there for the blonde woman.

And seemingly faster than light itself, Sting was running into the lobby with a look torn somewhere between panic, terror, and rage. "What's going on?!" he demanded harshly, running up to Yukino, who was shaking. Her hands were over her face as she shook and tried so hard to keep from jumping up and down in joy for her friend. As soon as Sting placed a hand on her shoulder he could sense it- that massive amount of excitement that she was feeling. He took a deep, calming breath and exhaled heavily, trying to calm down from the panic attack he nearly had over his mate's scream after a glass shatter. "Okay, seriously, what's going on?"

Rogue was slowly approaching as well, though by the look on Rufus's face and Yukino's excitement, he knew. "Oh, you told them? ...Also, am I the last one realizing this?" he asked, walking over to stand behind Lucy. He hesitated to place a hand on her back, though she seemed to catch the action out of the corner of her eyes.

"Of course!" she answered happily, leaning back into his hand and smiling up at him. "They needed to know why I'm going to be moving in with you."

And again, everyone went silent. A groan from Lucy happened after the blush on Rogue's face and the faint, distant cough from one of the other Sabertooth guild members from across the room. The shadow mage patted her back reassuringly and she looked away from him to run her hands over her face in an exasperated manner. "Wording. I really have to work on my wording."

Sting laughed and rolled his eyes. "So what's up? What are you the last one realizing?"

Rufus cleared his throat and returned his face to its usual outward emotion consisting of an all-knowing smirk. But the sparkle in his eyes gave away the excitement at the news. "It seems our guest finally pushed Our Lady towards our resident God-Slayer."

Sting, if he had been eating, would have choked. However, the way his breath snagged in his throat and the harsh coughs coming from it seemed to suffice. "How?! We've been trying for _years_ now!"

"Years?" Rogue silently said, his brows furrowing. "Seriously, am I just that bad at emotions?" Though his near silent remark- a remark meant for himself- went ignored.

Lucy shrugged. "You just have to think the way she does. If you can place yourself in her shoes and emotions, it's easier to get on her level to explain things."

"Truly fascinating," Rufus mumbled.

A 'party' at Sabertooth had commenced soon after. It wasn't like the parties Lucy was used to, but the guild loosened up enough during this 'party' and seemed more like Fairy Tail. If only they got to see a _real Fairy Tail style_ party. With how loose everyone was in their speaking and how much louder they were slowly getting- and even though it was before noon, a small amount of booze was starting to go around as well. _This_ was like Fairy Tail. _This_ made her feel more at home. Somewhere in the middle of everything, Yukino's lacrima started going off and she called for Dobengal to take over her position at the bar while she took the call.

The blonde woman didn't question it much as she continued on with Rufus, talking and conversing as though they had known each other from birth- though it wasn't too far off. Both blondes had been raised as nobles, in the high classed lifestyle with little to no freedoms and, while Rufus had waited a little longer than Lucy did to leave his own home, they both left their respective manors for guilds. Much like Lucy, Rufus had started his magic at home as well. He even went as far as admitting that the idea to finally leave came from a Sorcerer Weekly interview of Lucy that was done before the Tenrou Island incident.

It was flattering, but she _was_ happy that someone else got out of a toxic household because of her influence. "So you don't regret leaving?"

"Not at all," the memory mage answered with little to no hesitation. "I couldn't handle that kind of lifestyle for much longer."

"I completely understand that," Lucy responded with a roll of her eyes. "Especially not with _marriage season_."

The two blondes shuddered in their seats, getting a chuckle from a highly amused ninja taking orders from drinks. A comfortable silence swept over the three mages and Lucy turned around to smile fondly at the guild. It looked as though there was an arm wrestling match over in the far left corner, towards the center looked like a game of _What's On My Head_ and some poor man was having to act out _Christina Aguilera_... And over on the right looked like the quieter mages in a conversation about Maivis-knows-what.

"Do you like it?"

The voice snapped Lucy out of her thoughts and she turned around to see the bar tending ninja leaning on his elbows on the bar, watching the guild with her. "Like it..?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding towards the guild. "Do you like it here, I should say."

She smiled warmly and looked back out towards the commons. "I do. It reminds me of Fairy Tail- of home- in certain ways but it's still obviously not, y'know? Like..."

"Like meeting someone who reminds you of someone else. How they're close to that other person, but blatantly their own person as well?" he offered.

"Exactly like that," she nodded, turning back around to face him at the bar. Maybe one margarita wouldn't be the worst thing in the world- time of day be damned. That thought was soon dropped as Yukino raced back into the commons to grab Lucy's wrist and tug her further into the guildhall.

Her questions and pleas weren't heard, though, as she barged straight into Sting's office. He seemed confused for a brief second before he was shot a glare by his mate.

"Out. Now."

He grew worried again, but she shook her head. "I'll leave... But..."

"I have a call I need to take with Lucy and this is the only soundproof room," she explained, throwing him a pleading look.

He nodded and kissed her temple on the way out the door- making sure to lock and shut it tight behind him.

It was then that Yukino pulled out the lacrima and it showed Minerva's crying face. Lucy felt panic tighten her gut, but the smile on the black haired lass's face sated that worry. But only slightly.

"What's going on, Mini?" Lucy said softly.

The woman on the other side nodded furiously and a wet laugh escaped her mouth. " _He's mine, guys... He's... He's finally mine.._ "

Yukino squealed at the top of her lungs, again, and a round of laughter was heard from all three women. "What happened?!"

" _Um... Well... We kinda made love?_ "

Again, Yukino squealed- though this time was significantly quieter than the last two times she did that day.

"Okay, details girl! We need them!" Lucy said, trying to coerce more information out of the territory mage.

" _Well, when he got out of the shower he thought I left with you and Rogue so he came sauntering out in a towel looking kind of upset. I yelled at him to put some boxers on at least and after he did he came back out. I gave him a back massage and... Well... He didn't even say anything. I was about to say what you told me to Lucy, but he just said_ 'I miss you, Minerva, _' with no context... I just... Didn't know how to react and tried to play it off but he rolled over and pulled me down on him and... And... He kissed me._ "

"OH. MY. STARS!" Lucy shouted, a bright smile lighting up her face while Yuki jumped up and down next to her. "I _soooo_ knew it! Okay okay so you're on him and he kissed you. What else?"

 _"Well... I pulled back first- I kissed him back, don't get me wrong- but I pulled back and asked him how long.. He told me down to the moment, like what I was wearing and everything. He just.. Made me fall for his stupid face all over again and I just... Started crying. He freaked out and I told him that I have liked him since the moment he joined the guild. One thing lead to another and here we are!"_

Yukino clapped happily, barely being able to contain her excitement and happiness. "Oh my GOSH that is so cute! I wish Sting could be that romantic..."

"Pff," Lucy scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You'd be surprised, Yuki. Wait until he pisses you off- like _really_ pisses you off. He'll pull out all the stops to make you happy again. I've seen that in the dragons more times than not."

All three ladies laughed, but Minerva stopped them. " _Hey... Will you guys tell me something?_ "

The celestial wizards tilted their heads but nodded anyway. They saw her put the lacrima down and she stepped back and they saw she was completely naked- not that they cared or like it was something they had never seen before (bathing with each other made you pretty numb to things like this)- and she turned around. On her left shoulder blade was a small pair of wings that looked like they were made of black lightning. How fitting. Lucy giggled and Yukino tilted her head. " _Is there a scar on my back from where that idiot shocked me?_ "

"Nope! You're marked, Mini!" The blonde said, crossing her arms.

"I didn't think Godslayers could mark their lover?"

Lucy nodded. "I remember a conversation between Chelia and Wendy- and they had asked me to look a little further into it for them. God slayers mark their lovers like dragons do, but from what I remember reading and all, it's less... Oh, stars, I can't remember exactly how the book worded it but like... Dragon slayers pretty much don't have a choice in the matter- who they will be with is decided by destiny or fate or whatever you want to call it. God slayers don't typically mark anyone they haven't been with for years because it's all trust with them, and it connects your literal souls.

"I remember very little about it, but I'll call Levy and see if she'll bring me the books. Chelia has a couple of books on it, too, but I'll warn you that they're pretty damn vague, considering how rare the magic is."

Minerva turned back around and nodded weakly, tears still rushing down her face. " _Thank you, Lucy…_ "

The blonde smiled warmly and nodded in response, but Yukino spoke up. "So dragons bond physically while gods bond soulfully?"

Lucy nodded and continued. "In the books I read, all godslayers had died in battle protecting their lover, but at the time the books were written, it was assumed they would live as long as gods themselves.. So I think it has more to do with that assumption than anything else if I'm being honest here."

Yukino's face was scrunched in thought, but she nodded in comprehension.

Minerva cleared her throat and glanced to the doorway. " _Another thing to pass to the sky godslayer… They get the libido and sex drive of a fucking rabbit when it happens._ "

Lucy barked a laugh while Yukino giggled as well. "I'll send Virgo to get my things. She can get in and out of virtually anywhere without disturbing anyone then."

Minerva nodded and smiled softly. " _I would pause so you can… But I don't know when he'll let me leave, if you know what I mean,_ " she said, throwing in a saucy wink.

Yukino giggled and nodded. "Only more reason to party, then~"

" _Wh-What?!_ " Mini shouted, her face as red as Erza's hair. " _Why are you partying?!_ "

"To celebrate you and Orga, duh~"

"Hey," Lucy said, nudging Yukino, "we should party like Fairy Tail and bust out all the booze you have~"

Yukino rolled her eyes. "I don't think anyone will drink that much, Luce. No, let me rephrase that. I don't think everyone in the guild _combined_ will drink that much."

"Oh, I will! I've been learning from the best, you know?~"

The light haired woman blanched and her eyes went wide. "Cana?! How much can you drink now?!"

Lucy giggled and crossed her arms under her bust and thought about it. "To keep up with Fairy Tail in general, you have to be able to drink about half a barrel on your own. And I can match Cana for about… two barrels?"

Both women were silent but then Minerva smirked widely. " _Yuki! You should have her and Rogue in a drinking contest!_ "

The other tigress laughed loudly and nodded. "He holds his liquor best and holds pride in that… Let's burn that pride~ You down, Lucy?"

"Hell yeah!" she said, pumping her fist in the air.

" _Drinks on me, Yuki. Remember that,_ " a new, masculine voice said. Soon, they saw Orga's disheveled hair and his face come into view. " _I'll do that if you can keep the fort held down until at least noon tomorrow. She's not going to be leaving until then, if I have my way._ "

Yukino and Lucy both made teasing gagging sounds, but they both smiled and agreed before saying their goodbyes. Well, it would have just been goodbyes- but they both yelled _USE CONDOMS!_ before the screen actually went black. The two star mages giggled happily and Yukino hugged the fairy tightly. "Thank you so much, Lucy."

The blonde woman only hugged her friend back and stayed like that for a moment. "You really want me to teach Sting the ways of romance?" she teased lightly.

The light haired woman laughed a little. "Nah. He wouldn't be _Sting_ if he changed in any way."

The women swayed like that for a little moment longer even though it was a little odd. Yukino felt the way Lucy shivered slightly and figured that she needed it, while on the other hand Lucy felt like it had been ages since she had proper human contact like this. Proper meaning that she actually let her guard down and let someone hug her and she hug them back with all of her might. It made tears come to her eyes but they never fell. In her gut, Lucy knew that this trip- vacation thing- was truly good for her. It was helping, at least a little.

Even a noise from the keyhole didn't stop the women from their embrace- nor did the feeling of the two stares heavy on their bodies. The dragons looked at each other, confused for a moment when the women started laughing again, but only shrugged it off. After they composed themselves, what Orga had said came back to Lucy's mind and she pulled away from Yukino before she strode confidently over to Rogue. Her strides were long, powerful, confident and borderline dangerous. And he swore, he didn't know what he was more hypnotized by- the look in her eyes or the swinging of her hips. Sting smirked and took a step away from his partner and watched as Yukino joined his side.

"So," Lucy said, crossing her arms again, "I hear you're the strongest drinker here?"

He felt that pride swell in him again, though he didn't know at what. Was it the fact that she knew his ability to hold his liquor better than even Orga or the fact that it was _him_ that made that challenge and powerfully confident look come out of her. A lopsided smirk lifted the corners of his mouth as he met her eyes- challenge for challenge.

"And what if I am? Do you have a problem with that?"

Lucy mirrored his smirk, loving the way he met her stance for stance- challenge for challenge. "Maybe I want to strip you... Of that title." Though he didn't know, she had _purposefully_ added the pause in there.

A pleased growl came from his throat as he took a step closer to her- forgetting the other two in the room. "You really think you can challenge me to something like that? I hope you can back up that challenge."

"And I hope you can put up a better fight than half of your guild," she threw back, only staring him down harder when he leaned down and their faces were now only centimeters apart.

"So a Fairy wants to challenge a Tiger, huh?" he cooed sarcastically.

And, finally, Sting cleared his throat to remind them of the other two's presence in the room. It worked because the moment he did that, the distance between them grew and heavy blushes settled over their faces.

"I'll... I'll go look at what kind of booze you guys have stocked," Lucy said, rushing out of the room to mask her embarrassment.

Yukino was soon chasing after her, after giving Sting a glance that spoke levels. Once the two women were gone, Sting shut the door behind them and leaned against it. He gave Rogue a knowing look and just waited for the other man to speak.

Rogue sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair. "I have no idea if it's the eclipse coming up or something else, Sting."

The white dragon pushed himself off the door and placed a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Are you sure you don't know?"

The shadow dragon put his hands in his pockets and he bit his lower lip. Again it took another ten or fifteen minutes for him to speak. "I... I've never been good with emotions, Sting, you know this. I get that same feelings of home when I'm around her as I do with you, Orga, and Minerva. And I don't know if it's because she's my mate or because she's just... So welcoming. Or even if it's because she's meant to be one of my greatest friends- like you three."

They stood there in silence for another good fifteen minutes or so. "So, right now, you feel the same about her as, say, Orga."

Without much hesitation, Rogue nodded.

Sting pulled his arm back and crossed them over his chest. "I know what you mean, though, man. I get that home vibe from her too. It could be because of how welcoming and open she is. I mean, shit, you know what she pushed Our Lady to do." The blond bit his lower lip, thinking hard about what was just said.

Another bout of silence followed what was said. But, Rogue just sighed. "I'll.. I'll call Gajeel tomorrow and find out if it's something about Lucy."

"It could be about her magic, too," Sting offered, trying to help as much as he could. "Shit man, we both said the same thing about Yukino too."

"That doesn't help in the least bit, Sting. You ended up mating with her. I... I don't think I'm ready for that," he said softly, but he knew Sting had heard.

The blond nodded again and sighed, running a hand through his own hair. "Still... It _could_ be her magic. You know Mirajane and Levy aren't celestial wizards. And there have been others before Lucy who weren't fated to be marked by a dragon slayer.. It honestly could be our senses just showing us who our family is meant to consist of again."

"Like with Orga and Minerva," Rogue finished, feeling a little better.

Sting didn't like how tense things had gotten and smirked slightly. "But seriously, man, you keep up with this sexual tension shit-"

"Don't even go there," the black haired man deadpanned.

The guild master laughed heartily at that, but stopped the man as the shadow mage attempted to leave the room. "Wait. Not yet. I have another question."

A black brow rose in question as he leaned against the door and turned his full attention to the blond man. "So..?"

"Have you met with her before today?"

Rogue unintentionally tensed greatly. His eyes hardened slightly and Sting even caught the way Rogue bit his cheek without showing it. "Why do you ask?" His tone was harsh, cold, and demanding. He was nervous. He was scared. And he covered it up with his cold and distant demeanor.

This time it was Sting who rose a brow. "So you have. I recognized her scent when she came here the first day. I didn't place it until you two were so close- I remember smelling her scent on you."

"It was nothing like that," he hurried and looked away from his best friend. His partner. "I can guarantee nothing like that came of our past interactions."

"Oh?" The blond said, catching on and smirking. "Interactions? So there were more than one?"

A low growl came from the black haired man at the reaction, but he nodded nonetheless. "We met up twice, but otherwise it was lacrima calls and letters."

"So you know each other pretty well?" Sting asked, further making his best friend even more uncomfortable. "Man, you know I'm not going to tell anyone-"

" _I_ don't mind giving you this information, but _she_ might. Most of the times when we talked she trusted me with information I don't think I should give out without her permission." Sting took a breath to speak, but Rogue held a hand up to silence him. "It was after Fairy Tail disbanded. She was pretty wrecked over it. That's the most information I'll give you."

The White Dragon nodded and sighed heavily. "I was _going_ to say you didn't _have_ to tell me. But... Shit man..."

"If it makes you feel any better, she was considering joining our rankings for a while there, but decided against it just in case Fairy Tail ever got back together," Rogue said, a smirk playing on his lips, feeling better about the fact that Sting wouldn't press for the information. "I told her we'd let her leave the moment they did, but she denied."

The blond laughed and slung his arm over his best friend's shoulders. "Well, enough of this emotional bullshit. Blondie might be challenging you to a drink off, but I think shes really after whatever you're packing-"

" _Sting what the fuck_ -"

A loud, boisterous laugh left him. "Sexual tension, man. It's a thing."

And another groan left the Shadow Dragon as the duo left the guild.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, in Magnolia...**_

Cana, sitting at the bar with a barrel of alcohol between her legs, let out a loud sneeze that startled both her and Mirajane. Cana narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Someone I know just issued a challenge with my name... Mira! Another barrel!"


	6. The Realization

_**Author's Note** : Hey, dearest Tiger Priestess?_

 _Remember that_ thing _you asked about a couple of chapters back? Yeah that's now. Also, a few of you were more excited about the drinking contest itself than anything else and I regret to inform you that I didn't write all that much on it. Or really, anything at all. There are hundreds of fics out there that elaborate on the drinking aspect of it and make them play games, have contests, and an array of different things to that extent. I didn't feel it necessary for this story so I didn't._

 _And since there are so many out there like that, I figured that it wouldn't be too missed. I apologize if that was what you wanted most and hope you aren't too disappointed. :c_

 _I'm still here to say I love you all and thank you guys for the continued support for this fic! Onward to fanfic victory~_

* * *

 _ **The Realization**_

In the lobby of the guild, Yukino and Lucy were at the bar talking about a few things needed from a local store. The lighter haired woman had said that she didn't mind going to get the items but she just needed help getting everything written down so that she knew what to get and didn't forget anything, so there they were; one rattled off random things while Lucy jotted things down from time to time. And, unlike moments before, they did not feel the gazes of the men standing a little ways away as they watched the small interaction between the two. It reminded Rogue a little too much of the first night he and Lucy ever held a real conversation, and damn that stupid warmth in his chest was back.

Sting's smile was gentle, calm, and completely infatuated and Rogue's? Rogue's smile looked almost like a complete carbon copy of Sting's.

"A memorable sight?" Rufus inquired, coming up to lean on the wall with his back, watching the two slayers out of his peripheral vision.

A noise of agreement came from Sting, though Rogue didn't make a move or a sound. In fact, the only difference in his state was the light twitch of the left corner of his mouth.

"Orga's finally fuckin' talked to Minerva. Blondie looks like she's getting better, too," Sting said softly.

Rufus nodded.

"When are you going to do something, Rufus?" Rogue asked lightly, only receiving a light and knowing chuckle from the memory mage in response.

The slayers redirected their attention to him and the smile he had on his face almost shocked them. "Does the word aromantic mean anything to you two?"

Rogue's eyes went wide and he nodded. "Aromantic, huh? To each his own, I suppose."

"Yeah, but man," Sting started, his eyes only softening as he watched his mate, "you do you. I just... Wouldn't be able to _live_ without her. She's like... Everything to me."

"How do you tell?" Rogue asked curiously, his eyes never leaving Lucy's smiling figure as she wrote down whatever it was Yukino rambled off.

"It's like a light," Sting said, getting a scoff and a roll of eyes from Rogue. "No really, man, it's like. One second she's screaming at me for using all the hot water and the next second it's like.. I can't see anything but her and if I take my eyes off her, she'd disappear."

"Sounds romantic- save for her yelling at you," Rufus commented with a snicker, gaining a light punch to his arm from Sting.

Internally, the shadow dragon had been thinking about that exact description Sting had given him. There were two whole times that Rogue felt like he _shouldn't_ take his eyes off of her, but neither time... There was no light involved at all. Perhaps it was just because he was the Holy Dragon Slayer that Sting saw a _light_ surrounding Yukino, but the black haired man kind of hoped not. If that were what he was supposed to see then he had yet to see any sort of light with Lucy. A good thing for him, considering he was still unsure about the mating process in general. Not how it worked, he knew what sex was- he wasn't an idiot. But being tied to one person for life? There were too many _what ifs_ for him. Like what if they get bored of you and walk out? The dragon slayer in that mated pair would _literally die_. Yeah, he's definitely not ready for that.

"From what I heard, Gajeel was the same way. He said Levy was hitting him over the head with a dictionary one second and the next it was like a light guiding his path to her," Sting continued, after seeing the look on his other half's face. "He said he knew the moment he saw her, but that light was just solidifying what he already knew."

Rufus laughed openly and shook his head. "So, Lady Yukino was yelling at you and Lady Levy was smacking Black Steel Gajeel around. Is anger what spikes this feeling?"

Sting paused and furrowed his brows. "Natsu said Lisanna was screaming at Elfman for embarrassing her and was about ready to throw the mugs from the bar at her brother... And I can't remember about Laxus..."

Rogue snorted. "If that's the case, what does that say about your relationships?"

"Hey, dick, screw off. You'll see it with someone eventually."

"Uh huh. Right."

The three men walked over to the bar and sat just in time to hear the ass end of the conversation the women were having- the slayers would have heard it all... If they were paying attention to the women's words. Which, obviously, they were not.

"Okay so make sure you write down flour and cleaner-"

"I have cake flour, all purpose flour, bleach and air fresheners for that area," Lucy said, lifting the little pad she was writing on. "I've also got the rags, glass cleaner, dish soap, and towelettes you said as well."

Yukino had put a hand to her chin, thinking over the items. "Okay, but what about-"

"Yes, Yuki, I have the gloves on here as well."

"How did you do that? Are you psychic and just not telling me?" Yukino accused, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at the blonde woman.

"You literally just rambled everything in the same order you did earlier," Lucy answered with a soft laugh. "But I also have the chips, oven mitts, pens, and the order to place on mugs written down as well." Lucy tapped the pen to the tip of her chin and bit her lower lip slightly. "Did you need anything else? I feel like I'm forgetting something..."

"Wine!" Yukino shouted. "I forgot all about that!"

"Oh yeah!" Lucy said, quickly jotting that down as well. "The entire reason we made this list and we forget it."

"Obviously," the light haired woman said with a laugh. "That's how it always works."

Rogue leaned in a little closer to the list Lucy held in her hands- reveling in her scent and trying to keep himself from taking too deep of a breath. "Do you need someone to go with you to pick these things up?"

"Actually Yuki said she was-"

"Yeah, she does need someone to go with her," Sting answered, looking at Yukino with a soft smile on his face. "I need to talk to Yukino about something kind of important."

Everyone was silent for a moment before the light haired woman nodded and looked to Rufus who held up a hand as though to tell her that he would cover her position at the bar while they discussed whatever it was he needed to talk about. Rogue stood and looked back at Rufus's table- or rather, the table their group of six usually sat at- to see Frosch playing with Lector. "I'll see if Frosch wants to come with us," he said, mostly talking to Lucy.

"If Frosch does not want to leave, you can leave them both here. I'll look after the exceeds," Rufus offered with a smile.

Rogue nodded and walked over to the table- not noticing Lucy's stare as she watched him interact with his most beloved partner. A soft smile graced her features and she shook her head as they talked back and forth, so softly she couldn't tell what they were saying. A tap on her shoulder reminded her of Rufus's presence, though she took another few seconds to keep watching the rather adorable interaction before turning to the memory mage- who was giving her a knowing look.

"Y-Yes, Rufus?" she asked, a light blush dusting her cheeks at the look on his face.

He chuckled and shook his head as though letting her know he wouldn't say anything aloud. "I've taken the liberty of adding twelve meat packets to the list. Rogue will know which ones to get," he said as he handed her the notepad back. Another hand landed on her shoulder, but for some unknown reason she relaxed into the touch. That's how she was able to tell who it was.

"Frosch and Lector aren't finished with their game of pictionary. They said they'll be good, though," he stated, nodding to Rufus.

"Right. The list has been updated with the meat packs," the memory mage said, nodding back to Rogue.

Lucy stood up after nothing was said for five whole seconds and she nearly shivered at the way the shadow mage's hand trailed down her arm before it went to pull away. However, she locked her hand with his before he could fully pull away. Her brown eyes then looked up to his red ones, a faint blush on both of their faces for a moment before Rufus coughed, only making their blushes worse. "We'll be back in about an hour, then," Lucy said as she turned with Rogue and left the guild.

Frosch and Lector, after the two left, came up to the bar and sat next to Rufus.

"I think Fairy-san and Rogue are close."

"Fro thinks so too! Fro thinks Rogue likes Fairy-san!"

Rufus chuckled at the exceeds. "He does, dearest Frosch. He sure does."

* * *

It took about thirty minutes for the duo to walk around the marketplace, casually perusing the vendors and keeping watchful eyes for both good deals and for the items on the list. The first stop they had come to was to place the order for the mugs and, soon after, they were able to get most of the items they needed- which Rogue refused to let Lucy carry the bags for. Granted, there weren't many bags but... With the way she was somehow able to haggle down prices on these items they needed with just her strong will and little to no sex appeal- he felt like he needed to contribute to their little moment as well.

Though their... small adventure, if you will... Was rather straight forward and uneventful, for Rogue, it was like the best moment he could ever ask for. Being able to be around Lucy for so long- their hands almost never coming apart (and when they did have to, they soon found each other again), it was like a little moment of joy and victory. They were currently stopped at what looked to be a jewelry vendor and Lucy's frown was deep set at the prices. Obviously Rogue had assumed that she wanted something that she didn't have the jewel on her to pay for, but that was soon stomped to the mud.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, gaining the vendor's attention.

The man turned around and smiled widely. "Ah, yes young woman? Have you spotted something you like?"

"I have, but more than that," she said, removing her hand from Rogue's long enough to pick up the twin bracelets and looking over them completely, "I've also noticed something you _really_ don't want me to let out."

The man's smile faltered for the briefest of moments, the male mage noted. "And what would that be, young lady?"

"You _really_ do like scamming people."

"You shouldn't make assumptions, ma'am," he scolded, his smile no longer on his face.

Brown eyes rolled dramatically. "You're using the name Yvenani on items that she did _not_ craft herself to gain more jewel for your half-assed merchandise," she accused.

The man narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. "I can _guarantee_ you that these are, _in fact_ , her works. Not that I'd expect a low-class person to see that."

" _Excuse you?"_ Lucy glared, her eyes more dangerous than anyone would ever want to see. "My name-"

"I don't give a damn about the name of someone like _you_."

"-is Lucy _Heartfilia_."

The moment her surname fell from her lips, the man's eyes were wide and his jaw nearly hit the floor. Almost comically, at that.

"I can tell you _from experience_ that Josephine Yvenani would _never_ put out something of this _shitty_ kind of quality, you _fuckface_ ," she scolded.

He sputtered and stuttered, his eyes looking around at the possible customers gathering around at the interaction between the merchandise. "M-Milady, I can _assure_ you-"

"Don't _bullshit_ me," she spat back, venomously, as she pulled a delicate looking chain from her pocket and lifted it for him to say. "Her work is very intricate and exact, not this _shitty_ stuff you're trying to sell under her name. I know her _personally_ and I can guarantee _you_ that you will be locked up in less than thirty minutes for this."

He looked thoroughly scared and he backed up. "Ma'am I meant no-"

"You did mean harm. You were scamming these innocent people _knowingly_. Stop your shit."

Rogue grabbed her hand again and squeezed it lightly. "Lucy, come on. It's not worth it."

"But he's-"

"Lucy," he said softly, "we can call this in later. I promise you that."

She groaned loudly, stomping away from the vendor with her free hand- still clutching the chain- flipping the vendor off. And she held that hand sky high. It took a moment or two for her to finally calm down as they walked and she slipped the chain back in her skirt's pocket. A pocket he didn't think those short skirts had. As soon as they turned the next corner, he grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug, holding her head against his chest lightly.

She froze for a moment but reciprocated the hug nonetheless, her fingers clutching at the fabric of his cloak. He rested his nose atop her head and inhaled deeply- loving the scent she gave. They stood there, embracing one another, much in the way she did with Yukino an hour or so previous. He honestly didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed. If he had just watched her anger spike- just as the other dragon slayers had- and there was no supposed _light_ that had to mean Lucy wasn't his mate. Right? He knew he should have been relieved, considering he was damn positive he wasn't ready for that...

But why did he feel disappointed, too?

"I won't push you," he started, his hold on her tightening slightly with his thoughts, "but I'm here. And I'll listen to what's bothering you, okay?"

Her heart fluttered, being reminded of their first _real_ interaction. The first time he said those same words to her. She nuzzled her nose against his chest and sighed a little. "I know... I know."

* * *

The drinking contest had ended a while ago, when Rogue had admitted defeat after only six mugs of ale. Between Lucy's leg was a barrel of ale- reminding herself of Cana. However, with her mouth over the spigot, she guzzled down the drink as the guild chanted her name methodically yet enthusiastically. Rogue, though buzzed as can be, watched in awe and, unfortunately for him, could only really pay attention to the way her throat moved with every drink consumed.

" _WOOOOO! GO LUCY!_ " a very tipsy Yukino shouted.

Lucy lifted the barrel and held it over her head as she finished it off, only to throw it on the grown and completely bust the barrel she had to herself to further prove it had been devoid of alcohol at that point. Cheers erupted from the guild and she lifted her hand in a fist and laughed heartily at the cheering.

A small hiccup left her even though she wasn't drunk; it was more because she drank too fast. Everyone seemed to notice this as she stood and walked over to the bar- that Rufus was manning at the moment- with no stumbling or awkward steps at all. And, without any hesitation or reluctance, ordered another tall glass of ale. Rogue only laughed loudly while Sting shouted about the Drinking Queen of Sabertooth- only to be reminded briefly by Dobengal that she was not a member of their guild.

This got growls from both dragons- not that either of them would admit to the vicious sound- and Yukino yelled "SHE'S A TIGER WHEN SHE'S HERE, RIGHT GUYS?!"

Which only got more cheers and laughter from the guild and the ninja simply apologized for his statement with a chuckle.

The guild had downed three barrels as a whole- not counting Lucy's destroyed barrel. After slamming her empty mug on the counter, she asked for yet _another_ refill. Rogue watched the blonde lass curiously, mentally noting how he was glad to have thrown the towel in with how much she had drank. And was still drinking. Then again, Lucy or not, she _was_ a member of Fairy Tail. He made a mental note to ask her when she turned into this much of a drinker at a later date.

When he was brought back to Earthland, he noticed that she had ran over to Sting and was smirking wildly. "Do you want to learn something fun?"

He seemed hesitant but nodded slowly. "What is it, first?"

"Something Fairy Tail did when we were at the Games that year," she said, almost unphased by the alcohol- but the light feeling she had meant she was at _least_ a _little_ tipsy. Probably a little more tipsy than she wanted to admit to herself. But she could still decently pass a sobriety test if one was given to her.

"...Should I even ask..?" Rufus said, loud enough for the two blondes to hear, which caused a light laugh to escape Lucy.

She picked up the chalk board that held the guild special order and placed it on three barrels. "Stand on this, Sting! You're going to barrel surf!"

"Wait what?! That's dangerous!" he shouted in protest.

Lucy waved her hand to brush off the comment and laughed again. "Nonsense! Natsu, Gray, and Erza did it without getting hurt!"

"Then why don't _you_ do it first?!" he shouted again, not convinced in the slightest.

"Puss," she mumbled, only watching as his features grew defiant. "But if you insist, I will~"

Lucy jumped up on the board and steadied herself with her arms out. "Give me a push to the barrels!" she said ecstatically, looking back as Sting did just that for her. And, just like Erza did back during the games, she barrel surfed. The difference was that she was able to control the direction of the barrels with a little adjustment here and there from her foot. The board would apply pressure to one side to make the barrels swerve to the side and she laughed loudly as the guildhall only seemed to get louder in their cheers.

Carefully, before she crashed, she jumped down and stopped the barrels with her leg. "See? No harm! But I don't think you could manage it," she said, brushing him off and pretending to go to get Rogue. The master grabbed her arm gently and stopped her as he jumped up on the board.

"Give me a push, Blondie, I'll prove you wrong!"

She nodded with a smirk, knowing he wouldn't know how to turn the barrels. And, with the knowledge that her antagonizing worked, it only made her feel that much more devious. She gave a push to the barrels and watched as his smile grew joyful as he surfed down the barrels only to crash land against the far wall- gaining laughter from all around.

Countless more attempts from Yukino and Sting (the former mage getting the hang of it much more quickly, to the blond man's chagrin) resulted in a few dents in the walls of the guild- though nobody really cared or questioned it. Most every member had passed out on the floor- or left before they could do that. Eventually, Rogue approached Lucy- who was having a nice conversation with Rufus at the bar while petting the two sleeping exceeds (who stayed with Rufus to avoid the chaos)- and tapped her shoulder.

Still a little hazy- but not much- from the booze, Lucy turned and smiled brightly at the shadow mage. "Yes?"

"Have fun?" he asked, a soft smile playing at his features.

She turned around in her seat, her elbows resting on the bar behind her as she leaned against it. The smile on her face only softened and the look in her eyes seemed to sparkle under the dim lantern lighting of the guild. "Yeah. Lots of fun. It was almost like a Fairy Tail party."

"Almost?" Rufus asked, wiping down a mug. "What were we missing?"

"Oh, you know, the usual stuff. An all-guild brawl. Half-flaming, half-frozen furniture. About twenty more empty barrels. A broomstick shoved in someone's ass. And just a handful of other things."

The black haired man raised his brows in a highly amused manner. "Sounds like Fairy Tail parties until they're dead."

The woman laughed lightly- feeling the effects of the alcohol leave her system very very slowly. "Yeah. Tonight was like one of our regular nights- maybe just a little wilder. Our parties... Lets just say _nobody_ goes home. Everyone's always camped out on the floor coddling _someone, somehow_ when it's all said and done."

Rufus let out a light chuckle at that. "It is getting rather late. I'll finish up here. You two should get home." he said before pausing. "Are you okay with not having your stuff, Miss Lucy?"

Lucy opened her mouth and closed it repeatedly, probably resembling a fish out of water. She had _completely_ forgotten to ask Virgo to get her things. "Shit."

Rogue laughed and shook his head. "You can borrow some pajamas. I've got a couple of pair with the draw strings to make them smaller around the waist."

She looked over and him and smiled warmly. "Thank you. Give me a second though," she said, pulling the pinkette's key from her belt. "Open, Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

In a puff of golden dust, the maid stood before Lucy with her shackles clanging together in a soothing manner. Well, soothing for Lucy. "Punishment time, Princess?"

"No... Will you get my things from Orga's house tomorrow morning and bring them to Rogue's?"

The spirit blinked twice and she nodded. "Then this Orga is giving his woman punishment, right?"

Rogue choked on the air he was inhaling and started coughing violently at the statement. Lucy only giggled and shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe _she's_ the one giving _him_ punishment."

That only made Rogue's coughing worse, which Rufus and Lucy both laughed at.

Virgo then bowed and nodded. "I shall wait until the dead of night in hopes they've gone to sleep. I don't want to interrupt anyone's punishment time."

"Thank you. We're heading back to Rogue's now, so you'll know where to put my things when you come back."

"Yes, Princess." And just like that, Virgo left in the same manner she appeared in.

Lucy sighed happily and shoved her hands in the pockets of her skirt before frowning. Rogue paused, slightly nervous at that frown- and even more nervous at how fast she whipped around to face Rufus. "Hey, Lore, have you ever heard of Yvenani?"

The man stopped in his tracks and nodded. "I do. I know her well enough to consider her an acquaintance."

"There was this _dickbag_ in the plaza purposefully selling ripoffs of her work! I completely forgot to call the council earlier, but _damn_ it pisses me off when someone is using the name of someone _I know very well_ to further themselves," she said, growling in a way that made Rogue proud.

Rufus's face had returned to a knowing smirk, though his eyes seemed very dangerous. "I can understand that completely... I shan't forget this. Do you remember his words or his face?"

"How can I _forget_?! He-"

With her brows furrowed in anger, her brown eyes shining in rage as well, Rogue couldn't help the heavy beating of his heart. Her lips looked so delicately plump and strangely reflective as he watched just about every single movement they made. Her lashes were creating soft shadows on the apples of her cheeks from the dim lamp lighting and the way her nose was scrunched slightly in her moment of anger made him feel like his heart completely _stopped_. He noticed everything about the moment- the movement of her jaw, the way she ground her teeth together in anger, the movement of her neck when she spoke, the animated way she angrily talked about the interaction they had earlier.

Or, at least, that's what he assumed she was talking about. He could so _clearly_ hear her melodious voice but his brain wasn't registering the words she was saying. No, he was too focused on why she seemed like she was _glowing_ in an ethereal manner... Why it seemed like she sparkled and had a light of her own shining for the world to see. Nothing in that moment mattered. Not the words nor voice of his fellow guild mate. Not the way the lighting seemed to disappear from everywhere _except_ for the light around the blonde woman. Not the feeling of a small paw on his arm. Nothing mattered but the look on her face. The voice of this woman. Every movement she made.

Time seemed off. It seemed slow. It seemed like something or someone was messing with him. He could clearly see the heated spark in her chocolate eyes. Those chocolate eyes that seemed to reflect every light in the guildhall. Or, maybe, it was the constellations he could almost literally see in her eyes. He noticed the way her lashes curled oddly when her brows furrowed, he noticed the slight sway of her hair when she moved.. He noticed how her skin seemed so clear, so beautiful, so flawless in that moment. He could _smell_ the comforting scent that naturally came from her. The scent he could drown in. He could _feel_ her anger but that anger... It seemed like something that didn't matter.

No. What mattered was Lucy. She was the only thing that mattered and the part that scared him was that he couldn't even blame it on the alcohol. He was the one who admitted defeat long before he was even close to being drunk because he noticed by glass six that she wasn't even tipsy yet- and he was beginning to feel the effects at least a little. No, he couldn't use that excuse, unfortunately. And that scared him even more.

But his eyes caught the way an angered blush fell on her cheeks and that fear was gone.

His heart seemed to catch in his throat as he watched her continue to rant to Rufus. Sting's voice echoed in his mind and everything seemed to make sense.

 _It's like a light... One second she's screaming... and the next second it's like.. I can't see anything but her and if I take my eyes off her, she'd disappear._

It was a chilly November night in the Sabertooth guild hall. It was that night that he realized something right in front of his very face. Something he felt like he should have noticed long ago. It was a night he would forever remember- a night that the mere memory of would leave him just as breathless as he felt in the moment now. She was everything. She needed happiness and Rogue _needed_ to give it to her. She...

She was his mate. He loved her. He wanted her to be happy. To be with him. To be his home. He wanted her to _want_ to be his.

And he was oh so royally screwed.


	7. The Remembrance

_**Author's Note** : I am... So surprised nobody faulted the last chapter for not having the drinking scene you guys wanted. _

_You all are too forgiving. qwq and, to the wonderful **LadyAllyssa** , that's the EXACT reason I had that in mind. A Dragon Slayer finds their mate when they're passionately angry because it proves to the slayer's inner dragon that they're just as strong as the slayer themselves- and should be feared when angered. It's like being a boxer and stepping into the ring- you know a challenge is at hand when you meet with someone with a fire in their eyes that matches yours._

 _I also want to give a heads up:_

 _ **THE NEXT THREE CHAPTERS ARE GOING TO BE MEMORIES**. In this chapter- towards the end- Lucy elaborates on something I've hinted at throughout previous chapters. The next three chapters will be those memories further elaborated. They will not be chronological- like the chapters until now have been. However, after those three, we will get right back into **Day 3** of the path of the **5 Days Till Destiny**. Look forward to that, because that is one MASSIVE RoLu storm coming your way!~_

 _I love you all and I thank you for all the support. Insert about 5 hearts here. The less than symbol won't hecking save. T:_

 _Anywho!~ Onward!_

* * *

 _ **The Remembrance**_

" _I've come to eliminate that person... ... Destiny is unavoidable. The living will live. The dead will die. The one who close the portal will close the portal. ... That person is you-"_

 _Rogue felt his heart clench very tightly. No! He couldn't keep this up! He couldn't kill his mate! Internally, the man tried to stop- oh, he tried so fucking hard to stop what he knew he was about to do. He knew. It happened so often in these damned nightmares, but after knowing why he felt so drawn to her... No... It was worse knowing how important she was to him now._

 _"Lucy Heartfilia!"_

 _A shadow dagger left from his hand and headed straight for the blonde. He felt a tear fall from his eyes and regret, terror, and fear washed over his person. Future Rogue's memory or not, seeing this... Over and over... Hurt so fucking badly. He watched on in horror, in pain, as his attack pierced through the woman's torso. He watched both pairs of familiar chocolate eyes shrink in fear- cloud over in fear. She was afraid of him. He could smell her blood. It was his fault. And, it was in that moment, he didn't know what hurt most._

 _Lucy dying, Lucy living and seeing that_ he _was the monster that did that, or watching as_ Natsu _was the one holding her lifeless form._

 _She was_ his _mate!_ **HIS** _MATE! And NATSU was the one holding her- mourning her!_

 _Yet... No matter how much he tried to force his hands to move or his legs to, they just wouldn't. He watched the blood- the life- drain from her body. He watched her face go paler than it should have ever. He had to sit and fucking_ watch _as the love of his life died in another man's arms. He felt more tears fall from his face._

 _"L-Lucy-" he was able to force out of Future Rogue's mouth, though the event was short lived. It was the first time he was able to control the memory enough to force Future Rogue to say something that wasn't said. But his moment was gone as soon as it came. He was in the castle one minute and the next, it was black. Dark. And Lucy's shining face was right next to his. The small sliver of hope- of happiness- that washed over him was completely drowned out by the hatred in her eyes._

 _"You killed me," she spat out. "You_ murdered _me in cold blood. Why would I ever date someone who killed me?"_

 _"It wasn't me!" he cried out, pleading for her to understand. "It wasn't me! It was him! I didn't-"_

 _"Rogue. His name was Rogue. Your name. Your future person. Who is to say you won't kill me again? If I start to trust you, you'll turn your back on me."_

 _"NO! I won't! Lucy, please, I love you!"_

 _"You_ killed _me. You_ can't _love anyone- especially me. Your mate?" She scoffed. "Maybe I should let you mark me and then leave you to die like you left me to."_

 _"Lucy," he begged, fully sobbing now, "please... Please... I swear..."_

 _"Rogue. Rogue, listen-"_

" **Ryos**!"

The man sat up, his skin glistening with sweat and his eyes wide. Hyperventilating. He couldn't breathe. He was panicked, not knowing where he was anymore. He didn't know who was there. He felt his body shaking and his breathing worsen. It was dark. Too dark. He was a shadow dragon slayer yet it was way too dark. She hated him. Lucy hated- ... Lucy. _Lucy_. Where was she? Was she really-

A hand was placed on his cheek. A gentle hand that seemed to soothe him with that action alone.

Light was finally reaching his eyes, though there wasn't much light at all. It seemed to come from the lamp at his bedside and he didn't have the time, energy, or will to think of how it was off when he originally went to bed. No, that light was illuminating her face in such a beautiful way that Rogue's hyperventilating breathing- though calming down- hitched slightly. She was alive. She was safe. But the image of the hatred in her eyes from his dream made him flinch from her slightly. He looked away from her, but her hand- still on his cheek- turned his face back to her. She wasn't looking away from him and she wasn't letting him look away from her. She wasn't looking at him in hatred either.

He looked directly at Lucy- her brown eyes filled to the brim with worry and concern, no hate seen anywhere there, and he lifted a shaking... No... A _trembling_ hand to her cheek. It was warm. She was here. She was alive. He pulled her into his arms faster than she, or he, could anticipate his actions. She squeaked softly, returning his hug.

 _She was alive._

"I'm sorry," he cried out, tears falling from his cheeks as she clung to her for dear life. His shoulders shook with his sobs as he held her close. "It wasn't me... I swear it was- wasn't me... I'm.. I'm so... So very sorry..."

Lucy scooted a little closer to him and held the man closer to her body, running a hand through his hair gently as he clung to her and cried his eyes out. The sight broke her heart and what hurt worse was how _Frosch_ was the one to come and wake her up, asking her to help the man. She ran her hands soothingly over his body- one through his hair and the other over his nude back. She would have been embarrassed in nine thousand different ways, had this not been the reason for seeing him shirtless. She would have been embarrassed for straddling his lap or how intimately he held onto her. But he was crying. He was hurting. And she had no room for her own feelings.

Not when a friend needed her.

"It's okay," she whispered, her mouth near the crown of his head. "It's okay, dear, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you, okay?" He seemed to calm down a little at that, but his grip never let up. "There's nothing to be sorry for.. I'm okay. It's okay, Rogue. You're okay."

She had no idea what the dream had been about but from the pleading he had done in whimpers before she woke him up... She could guess he was troubled about what happened at the Games... And that hurt her heart more. She had told him months prior that it wasn't his fault, that it would never be his fault... She had tried to soothe him and his worries even back then.. But seeing just how much it affected him now? That... It was almost too much. But she had to power through it. He needed her.

"It's not okay," he choked out. "I-I kill... Killed... I.."

" _You_ did not," she whispered, continuing the ministrations and touches. "You fought against yourself. Fought against the dragons. _You_ will _never_ be him."

"But-"

"No, Rogue," she said, her lips pressing to the top of his head. "You're an entirely different person. You're okay. I'm okay. There's nothing to apologize for, dear, and there never will be. He is _not_ you, and you are _not_ him."

His shaking diminished a little more and he sniffled. "Please... Please forgive me... Lucy, please... I-... I'm so, so sorry..."

She placed a light kiss to his forehead, trying everything she could think of that might help calm him down and forcing down any embarrassment she might have felt. He was the only thing that mattered in that moment. It felt so natural to be in his arms... But she couldn't dwell on that thought. He was hurting. "I forgive you, Ryos. I forgive you," she whispered, now rocking him gently from side to side. "I'm here, Ryos. I'm not going anywhere."

His cries only died a little more and the shiver that wracked his body didn't come from his sobs like she had thought. No, they came from how he wanted to just hold her and make her say his name like that over and over again. Not even in a sexual way, either. The way she said his name was like a beacon of light across the raging seas of his emotions. "H-How.. How can yo-you... I-... I-"

Lucy bit her lower lip and her brain started going at thirty miles an hour. There needed to be a book called _How to Calm a Dragon Slayer_ , but unfortunately, no such thing existed. At least, not as far as she knew. Thinking at the slayers she knew well- one thing popped into her head. Natsu resting his forehead on Lisanna's neck. Laxus rubbing Mira's wrist when he thought nobody was looking. Gajeel leaning a little too close to Levy's chest when she was reading and not paying attention to anything else.

He thought he killed her. And she made the connection, quicker than she should have been able to, about the way slayers sought out the pulse of those they cared about. Lucy wiggled a little in Rogue's arms- though he only seemed to tighten his hold on her. Instead, she pushed his head down from her shoulder. It took everything in her to pointedly _ignore_ how close to her breasts he was. No, she pushed his head to her heart and held it there, noticing how he seemed to calm down a _lot_ more from his ear being pressed to the flesh above her heart.

"I'm here, dear, I'm alive," she reassured. "I forgive you because it wasn't _you_. I understand what you feel, Ryos... But I promise you, I'm not going anywhere. I'm okay," she whispered, continuing to pet his hair as he stayed there above her heart. He finally seemed to be calming down and his grip on her finally loosened a lot more.

He seemed to shudder again and he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry... For this..."

She smiled and when his grip lessened even more on her, _she_ held _him_ tighter. "It's okay. I don't mind at all."

He breathed deeply, taking in her calming scent, and exhaled shakily. "Are you sure?"

"More than sure," she whispered.

"R-Rogue..?" a small voice asked, drawing the attention of the two humans to the doorway where a crying Frosch was seen.

"Frosch," he breathed, smiling sadly at his partner. "Come on back up here. Everything is okay."

The little exceed climbed up the bed and ran up to hug Rogue from the side, not getting in the way of their hold on each other. He sighed shakily- but it didn't seem like he wanted to move his ear too far from where she had put it. "Sorry about that, buddy.."

"Fro was worried..." the exceed said, sniffling.

"How about we go back to bed?"

"Can Fairy-san st-stay? ..If... I-If Rogue has another n-nightmare, Fairy-san w-will be here..."

The two looked up at her and she smiled warmly and nodded. "Of course I can," she answered.

He lifted the covers, letting go of her and let her crawl under the black comforter with him. And, as soon as his head hit the pillows, her head met his chest and his arm went around her waist. On his other side- his left- Frosch curled up in the crook of his arm. Though it was initially a horrible situation that brought this, he _couldn't_ be more comfortable than he was in that moment. He turned his head to the right, resting his nose on the top of her head and breathed her scent in deeply again. He fell asleep moments afterward, finally feeling complete. Feeling like his house was finally a _home_. And he was utterly exhausted.

* * *

Lucy awoke almost with the sun again, curled up in the bed that Rogue had ended up sharing with her. However, when her eyes opened, she saw her things lined up along the far wall of his room and notice that the cover over herself was the starry one the maiden had brought to Orga's house to begin with. She also saw the beanbag chair in the corner of the room. Furthermore, she noticed a small blanket covered in pink frogs and lily pads covering a sleeping green exceed at the end of the bed. Rogue's black comforter was at the foot of the bed and she smiled softly, her love for her spirits only growing.

Her brown eyes scanned over their current place, trying to account for her limbs. She and Rogue had apparently shifted in the night and it only served to fluster her completely. Her face was hot with an embarrassed flush as she remembered the things she said to him, how intimately and close she held him and... It... Didn't scare her nearly as much as she thought it would. As much as she thought it _should_. She had never been so close or intimate with someone before and never even called someone a pet name (though she wasn't sure if _dear_ counted as one...) the way she did to Rogue last night.

All she knew was that it felt right.

And, after being completely embarrassed about that for a while, she returned to locating her limbs. She noticed that her left arm was bent and pinned between her chest and Rogue's bare one. Her right arm was wrapped around his midriff and was pinned there by his arm being wrapped around her. He was facing her, laying on his right side while she lay on her left- her eyes in line with his throat and her breath falling on his collarbone. Her left leg was numb, awkwardly laying between his two legs and her right leg was laying over all legs. She bit her lip and looked up, finding her heart beating erratically in her chest again.

His long lashes were so dark in comparison to the fair porcelain cheeks they rested on. His lips looked so kissable ( _where the hell did that thought come from_ ) with how they were slightly parted, his soft breaths leaving in light puffs, and damn did his lower lip look so fucking perfect to bite ( _okay what the fuck was wrong with her_ ). His high cheekbones made his cheeks look carved from marble and accented the strong jawline that had a small amount of stubble on it. And holy shit did she feel way too tempted to leave a bruise or bite mark on that jaw. Her eyes made it to his throat, where she bit her lip at the thought of leaving hickies there as well, and she had to force her eyes back up to is face where his brows had furrowed and his mouth closed.

Lucy's perverted thoughts ( _no seriously, where the fuck did they come from_ ) were drown out by worry, wondering if he was going to wake with another nightmare. Instead, he exhaled a little heavier than the rest of his breathing and held her a little tighter.

 _Shit_. She needed to get up. She needed to pee way too badly to be stuck here.

Carefully, she removed herself from Rogue's embrace. Of course, this was a very difficult task as he kept tightening his grip on her every time she would wiggle away, but eventually, she managed to do it. She then slung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched before pulling her hair into a rather messy bun. A note on the door had read that Virgo had invited Sting and Yukino over for breakfast at 9am. When her finger grazed over Horologium's key- which she then noticed Virgo also brought her keys to Rogue's room- she noted that it was only 7:35am. Thinking carefully, she remembered from yesterday that Yukino and Rogue both liked the biscuits and gravy with bacon, while Sting and herself preferred bacon, eggs and hash browns.

With that in mind, she set off for the kitchen wearing a pair of boy shorts under the very large black t-shirt Rogue had lent her. This was, of course, after a quick pit stop to the bathroom. He had also lent her a pair of pajama pants, but they remained on the floor in her temporary room- unused. The pants were too floppy and she felt like there was too much excess fabric around her legs. Not that she saw them- being that she ended up staying in Rogue's room that night. After her pit stop to the bathroom- and after she felt so much better after relieving her bladder- she finally took the time to look around his quaint little house.

The bathroom walls were like all the other walls in his house- they looked akin to the walls of a log cabin, just like the outside of the house. The bathroom floor was done in black and white checkered tiles and the counter tops were in marble-white. The wood of the doors (really, all the doors in his house were like this) were obviously a dark mahogany painted black. The towels in his bathroom, the soap dispenser, the bath mat and the furry mat just outside of the white bathtub were all a deep shade of plum purple. The cabinets- which one of the doors were open enough for her to _see_ the towels- were that same black mahogany color. Somehow it seemed comforting- even it was a bunch of dark colors.

The carpet everywhere in the house (except the kitchen and bathroom, which were tiled the same) was plush and fluffy and an off shade of deep gray. His furniture, kitchen wise, were all made of wenge wood: the table, the chairs, the cabinets. And, really, the only reason Lucy could identify that wood was because of how expensive it was and its rich and deep coloring. The konzern seemed to only use wenge wood for anything wooden. She rolled her brown eyes at this, noting to herself that his living room furniture was in white as to contrast the darkness around it. The counters of the kitchen were done in a black galaxy pattern and glossed over so smoothly that light _bounced_ off of it.

His house was fucking _expensive_ when you looked at it how she did. On the other hand, it was absolutely gorgeous. Dark and deep with specks of light colors here and there to counteract it in such a way that made it feel that much more comfortable. All except the guest bedroom (which she honestly assumed was Sting's room once upon a time) where the furniture and bedspread were both shades of light gray and white.

Though, at remembering his guest bedroom, she realized that she and Rogue would have to move her stuff over to that extra room later.

"Damn it Virgo," she mumbled to herself as she moved around the kitchen to cook and figure out where everything was.

And, she had been too caught up in pouring out four mugs of coffee (and her thoughts) that she hadn't noticed Rogue's arrival. Nor the hungry look he was sending her- and it wasn't hunger for the food. He was eyeing her long, creamy legs, how the shirt was so big on her rather small frame that it fell to her mid-thigh and... Well, the sight of her in what _looked_ to be only his shirt with _what he thought could be_ nothing under it... Not to mention that she had just come from _his room_ like that...

 _Damn_. Hot damn.

He strode quietly across the kitchen, waiting for her to put the pot of coffee back so she didn't get burned. And the moment it was put up, his arms snaked around her waist and his nose was buried in her hair. Surprisingly- to them both- she didn't pull away but rather leaned into his hold.

"Good morning. Breakfast is almost ready," she said softly, swaying with him the moment he began to do just that.

"You know," he said, his voice a little gravelly from just waking up, "if I woke up to this every morning, I think I could become more of a morning person."

She laughed softly- almost so quietly he might not have heard. Well, had he not have had dragon slayer hearing. But he did feel that shiver that came from her. "Well, while I'm here you can bet that you'll wake up to this."

He hummed contently, not knowing what scent he loved most. The smell of the freshly brewed coffee, the smell of her wonderful scent, or the scent that somehow made him feel even more at home- the smell of him on her coming from her wearing _his_ shirt all night. The smell of _him_ where he had been sleeping next to her all night. He didn't question why he had felt so clingy to her so suddenly either- because he didn't have much of an answer. She was his mate and she felt so perfect in his arms. He didn't want to think of how badly things could end between them, how honestly scared he was about that fact, nor did he want to think of how she could easily say no and walk out of his life when she so desired to.

No. The moment was too perfect.

"Well well well," a new voice said, disturbing the duo's peace. "Hangover be damned, this is one strange sight."

Rogue growled both possessively and in annoyance, now understanding why there were four coffee cups. "Sting, could you learn how to knock someday?"

"Nah," he said stiffly.

Rogue pulled himself away from Lucy and left her to finish up breakfast. Yukino had come to help her while the two men went to the living room to talk about something she figured they weren't supposed to hear. While they were cooking she had whispered something that Lucy agreed to- neither wanting to speak too loud from the nosy men in the other room.

~ : + : ~

"What was that, man?" Sting asked, his voice low.

Rogue flushed and crossed his arms over his bare chest. "I... Sting..."

The blond nodded, waiting for his best friend to continue.

Red eyes seemed scared, hesitant, and downright confused. But, the blond man noticed, there was a spark in those eyes that he had never seen before. He watched his normally quiet partner think hard over something that seemed to bother him a little before he finally took a breath to speak. "She's it. She's my mate..."

Sting's arms fell and his mouth formed a little 'o' shape. "Are... Are you okay with that?"

Rogue stiffened and his crossed arms tensed in a way that made it seem like he was holding himself. "I... I think I am. But that nightmare-"

"Shit, man, that still fucks with you?" the holy mage asked incredulously- interrupting.

The black haired man nodded and sighed. "I had it last night, too."

Sting froze at that. Lucy being his mate and being _here_ when it happened... His gut twisted in worry. "What happened?"

"She... She comforted me. She forgave me... Sting, she _forgave_ me." He said, placing his right hand over his heart in the shape of a fist. His other hand ran through his hair and an exasperated- but happy- breath of a laugh left his mouth. "She didn't even think twice about it... But..."

"But..?"

"I think she was just trying to get me to-"

"Man, fucking stop right there and listen to yourself. You're telling me that a _celestial wizard_ was _lying_ about something like that?"

The shadow mage paused and bit his lower lip.

"Listen," Sting continued, "you might not forgive yourself- especially not with her being your mate- but she forgives you. Isn't that what matters most?"

"No," Rogue said instantly. "What matters most is making sure she doesn't get hurt. By me or by anyone else."

"Then you won't become that dickweed," the blond said reassuringly, rubbing his friends back soothingly before patting it. "But come on. You did more than that didn't you?"

"What-"

"I smell her _all over you_ , man. I can barely fucking tell where your scent stops and hers begins."

"We slept together," he said with a shrug, causing Sting's jaw to drop completely. Rogue tilted his head and became redder than a fucking _tomato_ when he realized what he had said. He shook his head vehemently. "No! Not like that! Just next to each other.. Frosch asked her to stay in there with us.."

"HA!" Sting barked a laugh and shook his head. "You and Blondie _both_ need to work on your wording shit."

The shadow dragon's brows furrowed and he narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "You're blonder than she is, you know."

Sting seemed to inhale sharply, his eyes narrowing at the window next to them. He then turned his back to the window to stop as much light as possible from reaching his vision and making his throbbing headache worse. "Whatever with all of that, when the hell did you notice?"

Rogue bit his lower lip and shrugged indifferently. "Last night at the guild. She called Virgo to get her things when Minerva and Orga finally went to bed and talked to Rufus some... And there was that light..."

The blond smirked. "See, I wasn't bullshitting you when I said you'd see a light. But you got me curious. Was she pissed?"

"Furious," he said almost instantly, taking a shaking breath as he remembered it. "Someone was using her and Rufus's friend's name to scam people and she was probably screaming about it to him, to be honest. I can't remember what exactly was said."

"Couldn't hear what she said but could hear her?" the blue eyed man asked, receiving a nod in response. That stupid ass smirk only got wider. "Told you. I fuckin told you that you'd see it."

"Shut the hell up, man, I-"

Sting held a hand up to him. "Still don't feel ready for something like this?"

Rogue froze, looked away, and nodded.

"It's scary, man. I get it, trust me, I'm still fucking terrified that Yukino is going to wake up, realize how much better than me she _deserves_ , and just... walk out."

Red eyes went wide as he looked to the man. "Wait. _You're_ scared of that?"

The guild master put a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "You hurt me, Roguey."

Those same red eyes rolled dramatically. "What the hell ever. But seriously, how do you deal with that?"

"Heh," he responded, rolling his own eyes and looking towards the kitchen longingly. "I don't. It's the little moments that drive away that fear... Waking up with her next to me, catching her in moments she wouldn't let anyone else see, just _holding_ her... I just ignore it. Because I know if I worry about that shit now, it's only going to stress us both out and strain shit."

Rogue's brows went up in a mixture of amusement and shock. "I never thought I'd see the day _you_ were being wise or mature about anything."

"Eh... She straightens me out," he said with a shrug as though it were the most simple thing in the world.

~ : + : ~

Once the ladies had the table set and ready, Lucy poked her head in, making sure she made a little more noise than usual. Of course that was only so that they knew she was coming and she didn't interrupt anything. "It's on the table for when you two are ready." She paused for a moment and scrunched her brows. "Where are Lector and Frosch?"

"Asleep on my bed," Rogue answered. "It's rare they eat breakfast- yesterday was a shock to us for that." Lucy nodded and returned to the kitchen after that.

Breakfast went by with little conversation because of the hangovers Sting and Yukino both still sported. Rogue did the dishes afterwards and then got ready to head to the guild- pausing when he noticed Lucy and Yukino sitting on his couch facing one another, their conversation paused because of his appearance. He had been so lost in thought most of the morning, he hadn't even noticed they were talking- let alone that they had stopped when he showed up.

"...I'll head there before you do, then," he said, leaving without another word, Frosch waving goodbye to the women from his spot on the slayer's shoulder.

The two women waited a good five minutes until they resumed their conversation.

"Okay, they're both gone, now tell me what that was we walked in on."

"...Again, I really don't know..." Lucy admitted, looking down at her hands while she twiddled her thumbs.

Yukino didn't believe it, however, and raised a brow at her. "Okay, the clothes I can understand after that talk with Minerva… Rufus also told me about the conversation you had with Virgo before he shooed us off to come here, so I can understand that much... But he was _holding_ you, Lucy."

The blonde bit her lower lip and blushed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I... I don't know, Yuki... It's like every time he's close to me, I just... I want to be able to relax completely and just _trust_ him..." Lucy paused again and felt tears coming to her eyes.

A small, knowing smile came over her lips. "How long?"

Embarrassed as all get out, Lucy's blush now reached from her neck to the tips of her ears. "I-I don't-"

"Come on, Lucy. How long have you liked him before this?"

She whined and covered her face with her hands. "Since that interview I did for Sorcerer Weekly almost two years ago..."

Yukino's mouth fell open. "No way... _That_ long?!"

"Well, we had taken the interview at a small cafe in Magnolia... And I bought our lunches and we ended up... Just... _Talking_ more than actually interviewing. And he seemed so... So..."

The light haired woman squealed and hugged Lucy tightly. "No wonder why you don't pull away from his affections! That's so cute!" In the middle of the hug, though, she went stiff and pulled back, now holding Lucy at arms length. "So _that's_ why you didn't think being a morning person was a deciding factor."

Caught red handed, the blonde woman nodded. "I've been good at hiding it but... After this morning..." Lucy shook her head and looked up to Yukino. "After last night..."

"Last night?!" the light haired woman squeaked in astonishment.

Lucy nodded. "Last night. Frosch came and woke me up crying... Rogue was having a nightmare about what happened at the Games that year... And I ended up calming him down... He was _sobbing_ and _pleading_ for me to forgive him, Yuki... I couldn't leave him- especially since Frosch asked me to stay... So we kind of..."

"Slept next to each other?"

"Yeah," she answered softly. "Well, actually, he held me all night... But I've never seen someone so broken, but he always seemed so... Perfect, you know? It's like a reminder that we both have issues... But even then, I just want to wipe those problems away from him. Like he matters _so much_ to me and I have no idea why.."

"Yeah, I get it," Yukino nodded with a smile. "But I don't think you're telling me everything, Lucy."

The blonde blushed heavily and shook her head. "I interviewed him.. And we exchanged lacrima numbers. I sent him letters and he sent me letters, too.. We even met up to hang out another time, too."

The light haired woman giggled and put her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Are you sure you don't love him?"

The words caused Lucy to freeze in her tracks. "Y-Yuki-"

"Listen, Lucy, you've known each other for a long time now. You've talked more than any of us knew about, apparently. Could you have fallen for him somewhere along the way?" When she didn't answer but rather just chewed on her lip, the older celestial mage continued. "Plus, with how he acts around you... It could be that he feels that way too, you know."

The blonde sighed and ran a hand through the hair that had fallen from her bun. "I can't deal with this, Yuki... I just can't..."

"Why not, Lucy?" The woman pressed, and when the blonde didn't answer, she continued. "You don't have to talk now.. Hell, you don't have to talk to _me_ , but we all want you to feel better. If you love him- or if you want to be close to him like that- it might do some good to let him in a little. Maybe not all the way, but a little might do some good."

The blonde nodded and sighed heavily and bit her lip, tears back coming to her brown eyes. "I think I might have to break a promise I made him though... And that hurts so bad, Yukino..."

"What-"

"When I was calming him down," she said before the other woman could get _much_ in, "I was just trying to reassure him I was okay and alive.. And.. I promised him I wasn't going anywhere..."

The two women sat in silence for a moment before Yukino hugged Lucy as tight as she possibly could, rubbing her friend's back softly. "Well you aren't. You're still alive and in his life. Just because you leave to go home doesn't mean you'll be leaving from his life."

Lucy's fingers clutched the other mage tightly in their embrace and she breathed shakily before pulling back. "Thank you, Yuki... I'd probably be having a panic attack if you weren't here," she chuckled half-heartedly.

"Maybe we could... Hold on," she bit her lower lip and pulled her lacrima out. After dialing in a number, she waited for Rufus's face to come on screen.

"Well, what does the rose amongst thorns want?" he asked with his signature grin on his face.

She glanced at Lucy before returning her eyes to Rufus. "Where are you?"

"The guild library-"

"Turn the volume all the way down, I don't want the dragons hearing this…" Once he nodded, she continued on with a small plan for her and Lucy- which meant Rufus would man the bar. And, for once, he agreed without complaint.


	8. The Memories (I)

_**Author's Note:** Oh hey! Back with another chapter!~_

 _So, as I stated in the last chapter, these next three are going to be the memories of their first two meetings and little things in between. These are heavily RoLu, by the way, and they get a little wordy- not gonna lie. Well, 'wordy' is kind of my writing style anyway. But, these three chapters are put here for a reason- the end of Chapter 7 left off perfectly for it and the next chapter to continue in that day- Chapter 11- refers to these memories quite a lot._

 _But, enough of all that. Onto the show!_

* * *

 _ **The Memories (I)**_

"We need to interview a few more people going to the upcoming Games," Jason said, looking at the roster of people interviewed and the roster of those who have yet to be. He looked deep in thought as Lucy thought back at her own experience at the Grand Magic Games- which, honestly, wasn't the best experience. After Natsu left and Fairy Tail disbanded, she had spent two months just training up in the mountains with her spirits to better her ability. Hell, she continued to do so even with her current place of employment. Even still, she couldn't help but get a little excited about the idea of visiting old friends that she had made. The look on his face seemed to darken for a second before he apparently decided on something.

"It doesn't look like the _Power House Guilds_ are going to be attending," he said, looking back up at Lucy from his seat at the desk.

She furrowed her brows. " _Power House Guilds_?"

"Fairy Tail, Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, and Quatro Cerberus. The top six in the land," he elaborated.

Lucy nodded, following his thought path. "Okay, so if they're not going-"

"You shouldn't conduct these interviews," he stated with no room for argument. "It would be a waste. We have a list of people who still need to be interviewed from guilds you're acquainted with, though, and I'd like you to do those. You might get further with them than I ever did," he said, handing her a rather small list.

On this particular list were five names: Minerva Orland, Rogue Cheney, Kagura Mikazuchi, Chelia Blendy, and Cana Alberona. She flinched slightly at the last name, but she simply looked back up at Jason. "I can write an entire novel on Cana... Because I have no idea where she is, I might do that instead. If that's what you want, anyway."

He furrowed his brows and blinked. "So Fairy Tail really did disband, then... I was kind of hoping it was a lie and you just wanted a part time, more stable job..."

"Yeah... I only know where a handful of my old guild mates are," she admitted shyly. "I'm still looking, though, in case something ever happens."

He smiled warmly at her and patted her back. "You're strong, Lucy. Much stronger than I could ever be."

The lass blushed lightly and shook her head. "You know, I miss seeing you scream about how cool things are every five seconds~"

He laughed loudly. "It's shocking how different I get when doing desk work instead of field work, huh?"

" _Very_ shocking."

He shook his head, a broad smile still on his face. "So, if you would save Cana for later, that would be best. You might know her very well, but I want to make sure everyone on this list is _okay_ with what you write about."

She nodded, looking over the list. "It would be easiest for me to start with Chelia and Kagura- I know them better than Minerva and Rogue."

"Alright!" He nodded, taking notes for himself as well. "I have another list as well, but these are the most requested people that have eluded us."

"Understood!~ I'll go get some letters written out. It might take some time, so-"

"I understand, Lucy, you do what you need to, okay?"

"Gotcha!" She waved him off, shooing him off to go get started on his own interviews. Once he was gone, she looked down at the notepad in her hand- looking at the names and addresses listed for everyone. Cana's, she knew, was no longer valid. But she had hope for the others. Thinking about how they typically acted and what would be the best way to catch their attentions, she first contacted Wendy via lacrima- as she knew the blue haired lass to be in Lamia Scale with Chelia. The little God Slayer would be the easiest, considering how she and Wendy were so alike... And how kind hearted she was. Perhaps it would also give her a chance to catch up with Lyon and see if he's heard anything about Gray.

About a week after that interview- (and no news on Gray's whereabouts) she sent out a letter to Kagura's house. The next day- quite literally- Kagura had shown up at Lucy's house with tears in her eyes. The two women sat and talked about the last time they had seen Erza and, surprisingly, Kagura had seen her more recently than Lucy had. That still gave her no insight to where she currently was. They spoke about a number of different things and, unsurprisingly, Kagura didn't want a lot of the stuff written in the article. Lucy respected that, obviously, and got a little more information out of her to work with to write about.

It took another four or five days after her meet up with Kagura to think of just _how_ she was supposed to contact the tigers. One had killed her and one had tortured her. Which was the lesser of two evils, she had to think. But, that negative thought process was soon removed from her mind. _Rogue_ didn't kill her- he fought against _himself_. Worrying the flesh of her lower lip, she decided that he would be the next interview- so long as things went right. So, she wrote him a letter.

 _Hey Rogue!  
Look, I know it's probably one of the weirdest things to get a letter from me of all people but... I've been thinking about a few things and I'd like the chance to sit and talk with you sometime. I personally have a free day this Friday- May 7th, if you get this letter at a weird time- and I'll be at the Paradocial Cafe in Magnolia at around 9PM... The owner is a friend of mine. But I figured that with both of us going through the Games, the Eclipse thing, and the pseudo-war with Tartaros together, we might have a little to talk about. I just really want to patch this up. Maybe actually get to the point where we can be close friends, you know? If you don't want to, though, I won't blame you at all._

Currently, as it were, it was only the first, but that gave plenty of time for the man to get ready and know he needed that day off from missions. Hopefully it got to him instead of him being way on a mission and not receiving the letter _because_ he was away on a mission. In the mean time, Lucy spent her time training and thinking of ways to get the other person interested in an interview with her. Thank goodness for knowing them beforehand, though. Otherwise this task would have been seriously impossible.

However, with it being Minerva... Someone who was a Demon during the Tartaros War and who literally tortured her at the Games... Lucy wasn't sure if everything would go over well. After her training, she spent the entire day of the sixth just relaxing and doing what _she wanted_ to do. Rogue didn't need to know she was afraid of him or that she had nightmares of Future Lucy's memories. He didn't need that guilt. And he sure as hell didn't need to know that he killed her in the first place. It wasn't him. And Lucy just had to convince herself that. So the sixth was used as her down day to prepare herself and shoo away any doubts.

And, on the seventh, Lucy found herself entering the cafe with much on her mind, yet still, so little on her mind.

"What are you doing here?" A voice said, bringing her back from her wandering thoughts. Lucy looked over to the black haired man in the otherwise empty cafe and smiled gently as she carefully approached.

"Trying to find you," she said in earnest.

Rogue's expression seemed confused and thoroughly perplexed. His ruby eyes seemed like they were carefully thinking over the statement she had just made and it was like a light bulb went off in his head. "...Okay then… So you're-"

"Yeah," she interrupted, trying to stop him from reminding her.

"It's true then.. That the guild..."

"Yeah... It is. But enough of that. Have a seat," she said, motioning back to the table he had stood up from when he saw her enter.

"After you," he said, pulling a chair out for her like a gentleman.

She smiled warmly and took the seat without complaint.

After she was seated and scooted back in, he went around the table and took a seat for himself only to pull out the letter she had sent him. "You know, I didn't expect it to be you here today."

The lass tilted her head. "What do you mean you didn't expect it to be me?"

"You didn't put your name anywhere in the letter," he said with a raise of his brows, simultaneously offering her the letter to read.

She quickly snatched it from his hand and reread the entire thing a few times before groaning and slamming her head down on the table- her face as red as Erza's hair. "I'm such an idiot.. I'm so sorry.."

He chuckled and pulled the letter back to himself, stuffing it in a pocket on his cloak. "It was an honest mistake. I have to say, it made me more curious. In a way, you were able to capture my attention."

She looked up to see his ruby eyes sparkling with amusement and it only served to embarrass her further. "Well that's definitely not the way I wanted to."

He only laughed softly, mentally noting that the scent of the letter she sent him was only that much stronger coming from the source. He didn't want to take the time to figure it out, though. Not after what he- or rather, his future self- had done to her. He cleared his throat, trying to take his mind off of that. "So, what have you been doing since Fairy Tail.. Well.."

When she smiled softly at him, something made his chest strangely warm and he wasn't entirely sure he liked the feeling. "I work for Sorcerer Weekly now. Before you high tail it out of here, Jason wanted me to _attempt_ an interview with you... But you can do what Kagura and I did."

"I read that article," he said, furrowing his brows in thought. "It didn't have much information but at the same time, it did. I wasn't aware that it was _you_ who wrote it.."

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah. I sent her a letter too, but she came to my house instead of meeting up with me. To be honest," she whispered, a faint and sheepish blush covering her cheeks, "I'm kind of using these interviews as an excuse to get back in contact with people..."

He nodded, looking over as the waitress brought over two drinks instead of the _one_ he ordered. A cup of steaming coffee was sat in front of him while a cup of green tea was placed in front of his company. He watched, amused, as she took the honey from the waitress and poured a little into the tea before stirring it up. "I assume you come here often?"

Her blush worsened and she nodded. "I came here every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday I could when I lived here in town. They know my order by heart, it looks like," she explained before taking a sip of the tea. "But seriously, the green tea here is to _die_ for."

He nodded and took a sip of his coffee. "I'm not one for sweets, but I'll take your word for it." He offered a lopsided smile before he quickly wiped it off of his face. Sure, it was only the two of them, but he didn't know her. No matter how much he wanted to relax, he wouldn't allow himself to do so any more than he already has. "So, before I agree to this interview, can you tell me how you conduct them? Jason is pretty... Straightforward."

She laughed- a sound he'd never admit to liking no matter how weirdly it made his chest feel- and shook her head. "He just gets excited. I'll conduct this interview- if you agree to it- the same way I have all others I've done. We just sit and talk about anything we want to. I'll take notes here and there about random things and when I think I have enough information, I'll read it back to you." She paused, watching as he thought it over. "When I read the notes back to you, you are more than welcome to tell me if I have something down you don't want to be included."

He raised a brow at her. "So, using something stupid for an example. If I say my favorite color is pink and I don't want that getting out, you won't include it?"

A snort of laughter made green tea come from her nose which, in turn, made him chuckle at the action. He lifted a few napkins to her from the container on the table and waited patiently as she cleaned her face from the mess. "I did _not_ take you for a joke-ster. If you say something like that in the future, can you wait until I'm _not_ drinking?" she inquired playfully.

"Hmm... I'll think about it," he teased right back.

She only shook her head, the smile on her face never faltering. "But yes. If your favorite color was _pink_ and you didn't want people knowing- stars forbid- then I won't include it."

He nodded and smirked. "What's the catch?"

"If you make me remove something, we'll have to talk longer, I guess," she sighed as though it would be the end of the entire world if that were to happen, only to look back up at him and raise a brow. "So I would suggest not making me remove anything from my list. I get annoying after a while."

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt that to be truth- but I'll play your little game and raise you a challenge."

She leaned forward and he sure as hell did _not_ miss that new spark in her eyes. The one of interest. The one of challenge. "Go on~"

"For every two _questions_ I answer- not topics we openly talk about, but actual questions- you have to tell me a story of my choosing. Something you've done, a mission you liked, an embarrassing moment," he explained, watching as her face only grew more confused. "I'll be damned if we walk away from today and you know more about me than I do you. And the moment you fail to tell me a story, you don't get to write the article."

Her eyes sparked again and she smirked right back at him. "You have yourself a deal, Mister Cheney."

"Call me Ryos," he said, shocking himself and the woman both. He didn't even like it when _Gajeel_ called him by his birth name, so _why the hell_ was he telling a woman he barely knew?

"Ryos then," she agreed with a soft smile.

And his heart fucking _stalled_. The way his name fell so gracefully from her lips... He no longer regretted telling her. Though he did grow curious when she didn't write that down on her notepad. "Are you not going to write that down?"

She raised a brow again at him. "Only if you're okay with it. I mean, I figured there was a reason you don't go by Ryos openly, so I didn't plan on it."

That threw him for a damned loop. She was being more considerate than he thought any interviewer would ever be- Lucy or not. Then, the two started talking. It was a little on the tense side at first, but after a few more jokes from Rogue (and having to blow green tea from her nose one more time) things finally started to get more relaxed. They spoke more freely, as though they had broken through a barrier neither knew existed. They ordered their food, ate, and talked about a little bit of everything and Lucy kept up with him the entire time- taking notes and telling him the stories he requested. The story about the Infinity Clock, about where and how she learned the spell Urano Metria, and just about how her life. Everything seemed so light hearted until she asked the next question.

"How do you feel about the Games?"

Rogue stopped and bit his cheek, not knowing exactly how to answer it. But, eventually, he spoke. "At first it was an annoyance- and it still kind of is. It was a way to get our guild's name out there so we had more jobs to take and people knew we were as strong as Jiemma wanted us to be. We're not going this year because Sting says our only real competition is Fairy Tail-"

"Damn right," she interrupted with a smirk.

He only smirked back at her before letting that smirk fall. "But after last year... It's just one big, horrible memory... Especially knowing what I did..."

She reached across the table and rested her hand on his. "That wasn't you, nor was it your fault, Ryos. Just because he had your face and your name... That doesn't mean a damn thing when it wasn't _you_."

His red eyes didn't look up from where her hand rested on his. He flipped his hand and held hers, giving it a light squeeze. "That doesn't change what I've done... Or what I did to you."

The silence was overbearing. It stayed there for a minute or two before she whispered "who told you about that?"

He squeezed her hand again. "Did you not want me to find out?"

"No, I didn't-"

"Why not? I _killed_ you, Lucy. That's... That's a sin I can't ever look away from.. _Your blood_ is on my hands.."

"No, Ryos, it's not," she said, squeezing his hand in return and she smiled softly- sadly- when he looked up at her face. "Like I said, it wasn't _you_ who did any of that. I don't hold it against you because it wasn't _you_ and I didn't want you to feel that guilt."

He released a dry laugh and looked up to the ceiling. "Lucy, it's my guilt to carry."

"It's not," she insisted, her tone stern. "And I'll personally fight the mother fucker who told you."

His eyes went wide and he looked back to her to see the determined look on her face. He didn't know how she could so easily brush something like _her own fucking death_ off, but he sure as hell couldn't. The nightmares wouldn't let him, the memory wouldn't let him, and his conscious wouldn't let him. His shoulders fell and he shook his head. "Nobody told me, Lucy. I have... I... I have some of his memories..."

She startled him again when her hand- not the one he was holding but her free hand- came up to rest on his cheek. He startled himself further when he found the touch comforting and he leaned against that hand, a soft and nearly unnoticeable whimper escaping from him before he could stop it. Before he could even realize what it was. As though they had been friends for centuries, as though she knew exactly where his insecurities and fears lay, her doe eyes softened and... And.. They felt so welcoming. He didn't dare think of how he wasn't this close with anyone other than Sting, Yukino, Orga and Minerva. He didn't dare think of it because he knew the moment he did, he would put his guard back up. For the first time in many, _many_ years... He didn't want to put it back up.

"You see things from his point of view..." He nodded to her statement, another very soft whimper escaping his throat like he were an actual dragon in pain instead of a human haunted by their sins. "I have some of my future self's memories, too. And you know what?"

He bit his lip, only hurting worse knowing she could see herself getting killed by _him_ in two different points of view now. But, he didn't dare speak. So, instead, he shook his head, silently stating that he didn't _know what_ and that he wanted her to keep talking.

"She- future me- didn't hold any remorse towards you. She didn't blame you. And neither do I."

The sound of a throat clearing interrupted their moment and Rogue couldn't hold back the growl that came from his throat in response. The waitress apologized and looked both embarrassed and upset for ruining their moment but she informed them that the restaurant had closed ten minutes ago. She had given them the time it took her to clean the rest of the restaurant before letting them know, and that was more than either mage could ask for. Lucy thanked her and paid the bill- for both of them, much to his chagrin- while Rogue left behind a hefty tip for the woman, apologizing for the growl and thanking her for her services.

Once they were on the outside, he looked over at her and decided that he did _not_ like the tension that had come back. She looked up at him with a hesitant and sad smile, but bowed to him in thanks nonetheless.

"I guess this is it, then! Um, thank you for meeting with me, Ryos..."

He lifted her chin, forcing her to stand straight and look up at him. "Well, if I remember correctly-... Damn... I'm sounding like Rufus..."

That brought a light laugh from the woman and he mentally patted himself on the back for tearing away at least _some_ of that tension.

"You still haven't gone over what you have written down with me," he said, a smirk playing at his lips.

A blush settled on her cheeks and she looked down at the notepad again. He heard her take a breath to read off what she had written down, but he interrupted her again.

"There's a bar down the street. If you'd like, we can go grab a drink and keep talking. I-If you want, of course."

She looked back at him clearly startled, but she soon regained composure to smile warmly at him. And that weird warmth in his chest was back again. "I'd love to."

The duo walked down the path to the bar- one Lucy was familiar with. She and Cana had come here together for 'alcohol training', as the brunette called it months ago. When they entered the establishment, a few patrons looked up and cheered to welcome them. The bartender- the same man who was on duty just about every other time she and Cana had showed up- smiled warmly and motioned to the open seat towards the end of the bar. The same seat Lucy always took when she came. He grabbed Rogue a mug of mead (a drink he said was difficult to get a hold of nowadays) and mixed Lucy a mango vodka club with a small dash of vanilla flavoring. Just what she wanted. Just the way she liked it.

The shadow mage chuckled and shook his head. "Seems like everyone around here knows you," he stated before taking a small drink of his drink.

"I did live here for a little over a year, you know," she retorted snarkily and took a drink from her own glass.

He chuckled heartily and shook his head. "Of course, of course. So, what do you have written down?"

She looked down at her notepad and smiled as she started speaking. "Rogue Cheney of Sabertooth. One of the Twin Dragons. Can be a little awkward but has a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. O negative blood type. Birthday is December 21st, the Winter Solstice and a Sagittarius even though he isn't half-horse."

This got a laugh from the black haired man, since he clearly remembered the spirit she was talking about.

"Not very outwardly talkative unless comfortable around you. Looks better with his hair up in a ponytail-"

"Oh I do?~" he cooed, leaning towards her.

She met him, though, and leaned towards him in return. "Hell yeah you do~"

He chuckled again and leaned back, taking another drink from his mug. She was an interesting card, that was for sure. Nobody met him challenge for challenge the way she did- not even Sting. And that mother fucker was almost as hot headed as Natsu. Not quite that bad, but damn close. "Anything else?"

She cleared her throat and flipped the page. "Loves his exceed partner Frosch more than any other living being. Fiercely protective and loyal. Pays attention to detail in ways most people don't and, because of that, absolutely _loathes_ the movie _Edward Scissorhands_ \- which is a sin but I will let that fly for now. Though shy, does not hide anything from you and is completely upfront and blunt. Watches too much Netflix on his home Lacrima Movie System. Give him freedom and he'll stay, but cage or restrict him and he'll run. Oh, and his favorite color is Pink."

He blinked, wondering just how closely attentive she was at how easily she was able to pick up on these little things about him, but he smiled widely at the final statement. "Well, looks like you'll be forced to talk with me for a while longer."

"Oh?" she responded, her smile showing smug victory. "And why's that? Do you not love Frosch?"

"Sure don't, absolutely _loathe_ the cat," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. That, at least, got another bout of laughter from the blonde, so he considered it a win. "My favorite color is _purple_ , not pink."

She laughed and nodded, acting like she was crossing something out to change it. "Well, I'll make note of that... So tell me, mister Dark and Broody, what do you know about me?" Her brown eyes spoke of defiance, as though she didn't expect him to know very much.

He paused and nodded back, accepting her mini-challenge. "Lucy Hearfilia, B positive blood type. Born July 29th, making her a Leo- who is coincidentally her second most trusted Spirit... Second only to Aquarius, of course. Loves music more than should be humanly possible and baths even more than that. Very upfront with what she thinks and feels, but is definitely hiding why she seems sad for some reason. More loyal to her friends than the other Fairies I know. Very stubborn, too."

The blonde woman laughed, resting her chin on the palm of her hand as she leaned on the bar and watched him as he thought things over. The sparkle of her eyes in the dim lightning let Rogue know all he needed to know. She was amused, interested, and he definitely had captured her attention.

 _Good._

"Somehow makes friends with all of the weirdos who don't know the meaning of restraint-" that got an even louder bark of laughter from her.

"Is that all?" she asked, raising a brow.

He hummed and leaned towards her. "If I had to describe her from what she's told me, I would say she's motivated, loyal, a good friend, a little dramatic but in a good way, and very charismatic."

A light blush dusted her cheeks and she looked away from him. "Stop that," she whispered, though he could hear the smile in the soft spoken words.

"Stop what?"

"Doing that _thing_ you do where you fluster the hell out of me," she said, even softer than before.

He smiled and rested his hand on her shoulder. He waited until she looked at him and he raised his brows. "If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen."

"PFFT. Okay, _Natsu_ ," she scolded.

"And here I thought I was more level headed than he is."

"Oh, you definitely are, but that statement? Totally something he'd say."

The silence that fell over them wasn't uncomfortable- nor was it that silent. There were many conversations coming from the patrons of the bar, a soft song coming from the speakers in the back of the room, and the clinking of glasses. The duo ended up playing billiards for a while, laughing and talking the night away. Hey, it was an interview... A very relaxed interview... It wasn't like they could do anything other than talk. Around three in the morning, the bar had emptied out save for one very drunk man that the bartender had called the man's wife to come and get. Rogue payed their tab- which wasn't very large considering that they both might have had a grand total of six drinks altogether. This time, when they left the establishment, the night sky was the clearest it had ever been and her eyes seemed to brighten when she saw it.

Rogue walked her down the streets of Magnolia, both of them silent in their walk. Her eyes never left the sky for more than one minute at a time, and his eyes never left her face for too long either. His mind was racing at about thirteen thousand kilometers a second, going over everything they had talked about and everything they had done together that day. The way she laughed, the little things that seemed to make her light up in her own way, how open and inviting she was, and most of all... How comfortable it was to be around her. It was much the same comfort he got when he was around Yukino and Minerva- that feminine way they could make everything seem so simple and complex but still inviting at the same time.

He couldn't wipe the stupid ass smile off of his face as he thought more on it, and that stupid warm feeling in his chest didn't seem to want to go the hell away. He knew she no longer lived in Magnolia and probably needed to get a train ticket to go back to Crocus but... Call him selfish, but he didn't want this moment to end. This night. There were few times, few days, and fewer moments that he allowed himself to relax the way he did that night. And, surprisingly, he didn't regret it one bit. He turned his eyes up to the stars, trying to see what she saw.. But he didn't see anything too special about them. They were the same they were every other night.

"Lucy?" he asked softly, breaking the all too wonderful silence between them.

"Hmm?"

He bit his lower lip slightly, trying to think of some way to extend the night further. Morning mission with his group be damned. And, then, it dawned on him. "Will you show me the stars? Like. The constellations..."

He looked over to her and _holy fuck did his heart just stop or is it beating to fast_. He couldn't tell which it was, but the look on her face fucking _captivated_ him. The excitement in her eyes made it look like he could see each individual star reflected in them. The smile that lifted both sides of her lips seemed like it was going to split her face in two. Her hand took his and she started running forward.

"I-I'd love to! Come on, the park is this way. It has a little hill that we can sit on and watch the stars!"

Yet another thing he couldn't find reason to regret doing was letting her talk his ear off. She pointed out Virgo, Crux and Corvus's constellations and detailed how he would see them in the stars. She pointed out every star and named them as she showed the constellations he never thought twice about before. He listened diligently, paying equal attention to her face and what she was trying to show him. Or rather, to teach him. It was a weird experience, trying to watch the stars and learn about these things from someone who wasn't Yukino... But the blonde woman explained it to him in a way he just... Understood. He got it so much easier than when the tigress tried to show him.

And even though she was teaching him about the layout of the stars, how far away they were and how they weren't just tiny little specks, he still couldn't tear his gaze away from her face for any longer than ten minutes at a time. She was so animated, so excited about the whole ordeal... It was like whatever sadness she had previously was either completely gone or just shoved to the side for the moment. Either way, he knew in that moment, she deserved this. This happiness. This moment free of worry and stress. He had been plagued with guilt of killing her and, had she included her name in the letter he probably would not have come out... But he was glad he did.

Especially for the moment they were having. Both mages were laying on their backs facing the night sky. Lucy's hair was splayed around on the green grass randomly and her brown eyes seemed like muddy-yet-crystal-clear pools of water, easily acting as mirrors to reflect the sky above them. Her hands were up in the air as she pointed out two stars in constellation Virgo and was trying to show him how to connect them. Her mouth, though talking, still had a smile tugging at her lips through every word. His own head was turned slightly to the right so he could see her better but also look to the sky if she ever tried to look over at him. And he wouldn't deny the smile on his face that had to be the dorkiest he ever felt himself sport. It wasn't until the stars seemed to grow dim did he realize the time- or rather, that they realized that they had stayed up all night. The sun was peeking over the horizon and he decided it was time to stop being selfish.

"I'll walk you to the train station," he offered, helping her up as well.

"Okay..."

He did _not_ like the way her voice sounded in that moment and, without thinking, he picked up the pad she had scribbled on all night and wrote something on it. "If anything is ever bothering you or you just need to talk, here's my lacrima number. I'll listen, okay?"

With the notepad back in her hands, she looked down at the number and blushed again. "A-Alright. I'll.. Send you a letter soon so you have my address, too. In case you can't reach me through my lacrima comm."

He nodded and tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "If you ever want to talk my ear off about the stars again, I'll listen to that, too," he teased.

She smirked and winked up at him. "I might take you up on that offer."


	9. The Memories (II)

_**Author's Note:** Oh hey! Back with another chapter!~_

 _So, as I stated in the last chapter, these next three are going to be the memories of their first two meetings and little things in between. These are heavily RoLu, by the way, and they get a little wordy- not gonna lie. Well, 'wordy' is kind of my writing style anyway. But, these three chapters are put here for a reason- the end of Chapter 7 left off perfectly for it and the next chapter to continue in that day- Chapter 11- refers to these memories quite a lot._

 _Also, this chapter is being uploaded late simply because we had issues with our internet yesterday. All is fixed and well now though! So I can get back to regularly scheduled, daily updates! There will also be another "today" (its 12:30am, Monday, here when this is being uploaded, and there will be another later today- Monday- uploaded too) to hopefully make up for the lack of an update recently. Also, here is something I should have said in chapter one:_

 ** _I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL._**

 _But, enough of all that. Onto the show!_

* * *

 _ **The Memories (II)**_

There were several nights after that where Rogue would just lay in his bed and stare at the ceiling as though doing that would somehow will it to be the night sky. He had always found comfort in the night time, but now? Now it was different- that comfort. It was serene in a way. He wouldn't deny that when he was outdoors at night, the mixture of the fresh and crisp air and the starry skies... It left him feeling a lot better than he ever wanted to admit. He and Lucy had been calling one another on late nights where one of them just couldn't sleep and they talked to one another until they literally passed out on the comm together. Or one of them did- more often than not, that person being Lucy.

Whether good or bad, he found himself knowing more about the blonde than he cared to admit. He knew everything from her favorite color and her birthday to how she felt about subjects he never thought about talking about. Like, for instance, her feelings on Vulcans. He was unaware anyone could have such strong feelings about a subject matter that small or seemingly insignificant. And, as he rolled over in his bed to face the far wall, he could only think of how worried he was.

He never let anyone in so quickly. Not even those he considered- now- to be family. No, he never let anyone in this quickly and he was scared. He was worried. He had helped her as much as he could in finding her nakama and what they were doing (while still keeping that on the down low) and had told her about the Thunder Legion and Laxus being at Blue Pegasus. He told her about Cana and the Strauss siblings' whereabouts. He even found out more about Max and Warren- though that was more by accident than anything. Who knew Warren was the one behind the new updates on the handheld lacrima comms?

He bit his lower lip gently and his eyes went over to the Sorcerer Weekly magazine laying on his desk. That magazine had an article about Rogue in it and... He didn't know how he was supposed to feel about that. She wrote nothing but amazing things about him in depth without going too deep about it. He hadn't received a letter or a call from her in about a month now- though that was to be expected with what was going on.

 _Dear Ryos,  
_ _Hey! I know I don't usually send a letter this soon after sending one, since we usually just talk on the comms now, but I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me and helped me through... I know a simple thank you would never be enough to explain my gratitude, but for now, please accept that. Perhaps one day I can thank you properly! But, anyway, there was a big reason behind this letter._

 _Natsu came back. I'm sure you heard about what he did at the Games- which I'm still holding over his head. But, he's back and we went and rounded up all of the old members... And I honestly can't thank you enough for helping me bring my family back together. We're in the middle of rebuilding the guild hall and getting positions sorted out- and finding Master Makarov- so it might be a little while before I'm able to call or write you again... But if you need me at all, you're still more than welcome to write me or call me. I don't want you to think I'm never going to get back in contact with you again.. I definitely will. It's just super busy right now._

 _Tell Yuki I love her and miss her. And thank Minerva for me, please? I'll... I'll call you when everything gets settled._

 _With Love,  
Lucy Heartfilia._

A loud groan left the shadow mage's throat as he rolled over again. Was it sad that he had read those words over and over so many times he had them memorized? Fucking Rufus. Get out of his head. A knock on his door made him groan again and he wanted to just throw a pillow at the door, roll over, and ignore the world... But the smell coming from the other side told him it was Sting. And unfortunately enough for Rogue, he knew Sting would not let him get away.

"Go away, Sting," he mumbled loudly, angrily glaring at the wall his bed was pressed against.

The door opened, closed, and the blond was so obviously standing next to his bed glaring down at him. "The fuck is wrong with you man?"

"Nothing-"

"Bull shit. That's bull shit and you know it," he growled. "I have half a mind to drag your ass to the training grounds and kick your ass myself."

Rogue snorted, rolling his red eyes. "And what's the other half? Food?"

"Tying you to a damn post in the training grounds and letting Minerva and Yukino have their way with you."

The black haired man raised a brow and looked back at his partner and, for the first time in a hot second, felt guilty as hell. There were bags under his eyes, worry was so clearly written on his face, and he looked like he hadn't had a shower in a couple of days. He _looked_ like he hadn't, he _looked_ very disheveled. His scent said that he actually _did_ shower and clean up- thank god.

Sting took a seat on the end of the bed and Rogue sat up, running the palms of his hands over his face. "Look, I'm just... Not having the best time right now," he answered the unspoken question honestly.

"I can see that, man, but you have to remember that you're not alone anymore," Sting said, reaching over and rubbing his friend's shoulder comfortingly. "You haven't been to the guild in three days. Frosch was saying you haven't even gotten out of bed in that time.. What's going on, man?"

The shadow dragon slayer froze at the mention of his partner. The green exceed was reason enough to not let anything bring him down, but he was an idiot who fell prey to his own feelings. Fucking blonde woman. He was never this weak, never one to fall prey to something as simple as his emotions, never one to sit around and mope like a damn asshole... Never one to let someone in so easily... Or laugh with them. Jesus fuck, he needed to get her out of his head. It was the only way he would be able to get back on his feet, yeah? Hopefully. Because he damn sure wasn't going to tell the man on his bed about his interview with Lucy. He'd never live it down.

Rogue took a breath and decided to tell Sting _one_ of the things bothering him. Not the main reason, but something that he knew he could get away with. "I'm having nightmares out the ass... I haven't slept well in... A few weeks now."

"Nightmares?" the blond inquired, tilting his head. "The fuck are you on about? You've never had issues with something like _nightmares_ before. If you're using this as an excuse-"

"Goddammit, Sting, now you see why I didn't want to tell you?!" Rogue shouted, throwing his hands up in an exasperated manner. Thank _everything holy_ for quick wits and being able to focus on a small portion of the truth in order to avoid the whole truth. He had the briefest thought that maybe he should join an acting troupe, but that thought was gone faster than it arrived.

"Sorry," the holy dragon mumbled (which shocked his partner). "I just want to help you, man... If it's nightmares it's not something I can directly fix and that pisses me off a little. Plus, you never seemed to have a problem with them before-"

"Yeah, well, that was before the bullshit at the Games," Rogue spat out angrily. What the hell was wrong with being normal and having bad dreams- or being plagued with nightmares like he was- once in a while?!

Blue eyes narrowed a little. "You do know none of that was your fault..."

A porcelain hand ran through a mop of unruly, tangled, black locks and a shaky breath was taken. "Sting, do you know what I... What _he_ did to Lucy?"

And those blue eyes narrowed even further. "Who the _fuck_ told you?!"

Internally, Rogue noted that Sting and Lucy apparently both didn't want him to know. Though the thought of the two of them meeting together in secrecy made his blood boil, he didn't let it show on his face. Much. The anger was still there, though, and he let out an angry laugh. "Are you fucking kidding me? What, am I a damned child? I know what sex it, Sting, I'm a big boy. I know what death, murder, sex, and torture are! I'm not a _fucking moron_ and I can handle this news!"

"Apparently you can't-"

"Sting, for fuck's sake!" the red eyed man interrupted his blond partner with a scream. "I've known since about a month before that war with Tartaros! If it hasn't messed with me until now, I'm pretty sure I can fucking take it like a man! I'm not an innocent little hatchling you have to fucking keep this shit from! I'm a grown ass man who pays for my own damned house, my own damned food, and I have no fucking clue what else you want me to say!"

Sting sighed, running his hands over his face. The shadow dragon wondered briefly if he had gone too far- but quickly pushed that thought aside. He really _was_ plagued with nightmares and he really _hadn't_ gotten a good night sleep... And apparently that made him abnormal. Apparently being more human than dragon for once was _bad_ and _horrible_ and that only managed to get under his skin more than the blond on his bed. More than the blonde in his head, too. It was like the stupid ass holy dragon slayer knew that wasn't the only thing wrong with him but went around the wrong way of trying to get him to spill the beans. More than likely, that was true, but so was the fact that he _did_ have nightmares about that night.

"Who told you?" the white-clad man asked in a defeated whisper.

Rogue relaxed, leaning his back against the dark mahogany headboard of his bed. "No one," he responded, sounding just as defeated. "I... I've got a handful of his memories. I can't see everything, but I can so _fucking clearly_ remember killing Lucy..."

The other dragon kicked his boots off and brought his feet up on the bed, sitting criss-crossed in front of his partner. "Alright... Talk to me. What's going on? In the nightmare, in the dream... Shit, just... Let me in. Let me help. You're my _brother_ and it fucking _hurts_ to see you like this."

The black haired man nodded and took a deep breath. "Do me a favor."

"Anything."

"Close your eyes."

Though confused, Rogue watched as those blue eyes he knew so well closed without another moment's hesitation. He could see the way the man's jaw moved- telling the shadow mage all he needed to know about how Sting was biting his cheek. Carefully, the black haired man inhaled and placed his hands on Sting's temples.

"You want to know what I see," he whispered, "I'll show you. I'll show you everything. I see things from _his_ eyes..."

Call it a magic trick or call it a spell, most mages knew how to do this. Most, not all. Rogue channeled just a little bit of his magic into his fingertips and thought solely on the memory, pushing that same memory into Sting's mind. He watched- with Sting- as the scene came about. Cornering them in the hallway of the castle. Saying such vile words. The scent of blood, the feeling of taking another person's life. The horrible, tight feeling in his chest when it happened. The way even Future Rogue hesitated when he _killed_ the wrong Lucy. But, unlike Sting, Rogue knew it wasn't because it was the wrong Lucy killed. It was because it was _Lucy_. She was so welcoming and open- even with his future self. And even his future self could feel the comfort that seemingly seeped out of the blonde woman.

He heard Sting inhale shakily and he knew Sting was going to tell him to stop, but he wasn't going to. He wasn't going to let Sting go when the blond had _so fucking rudely_ said that Rogue _shouldn't_ be having nightmares about something like this. This? This was more than enough reason to have nightmares. Taking another person's life... That was horrible- at least, to Rogue it was. When Jiemma was still around, killing was something Sabertooth did without second thought. Sting, however, knew Rogue couldn't stomach it and usually ended up finishing the job for the shadow mage- when their hands were forced. The duo never told Jiemma that they were able to slide away from that when they could.

So he kept showing him the image. The sight of Lucy crying over herself. The sight of _Natsu_ mourning her (that bothered him more than he was willing to admit). The salty stench of tears coming from everyone present. The sight of Loke- one of her most trusted spirits- having to bear witness to that. And, then, the scene changed. They were dealing with the dragons but, from the sharp intake of breath, Rogue knew Sting wasn't expecting this part. It wasn't during the Eclipse time. It was in his future self's own timeline.

And they both watched as the few dragons there- under his own command- continued on and terrorized everyone. The stench of blood- both dried and fresh- was heavy in the air. The sound of screams, the shouts or horror, the fires burning in the back that made things smell like burned flesh more than burning embers... It was enough to rob anyone of their sanity when seen from an outside perspective. But to see it from the eyes of the person who ordered the attack? To see it as though _you_ were the one who caused it all? That, in itself, was so much worse. And he forced Sting to watch as the dragons overpowered his remaining family- Minerva, bitten in half by the dragon his future self rode on. Orga being seemingly disintegrated by the roar of that same dragon.

They watched on as that dragon tracked down Lucy once more- how she survived, no one knew. Sting might not know but... Rogue knew all other Fairy Tail mages were dead. Rogue certainly didn't even care. She was alive, but... His future self stepped off of that dragon and grabbed her by her hair and yelled at her. Those brown eyes were dull, the mark on her hand was gone, the scars littering her body were horrid... But what hurt worse was the way she pleaded for him to just kill her already. Those scars on her body were done by _his_ hands. The awkward angle of her right arm that was unnatural was done by _him_. And, even though she was pleading for death, she was fighting against him. And both dragon slayers knew it was her only hope- to push his future self past the point of no return to get him to take her life already.

But it didn't work.

And they watched as his future self used her own whip against her. Her pained screams, her echoed cries.. They hurt. They hurt so much worse than any dagger to the chest. _It's **your** fault they're all dead! If **you** wouldn't have closed the fucking gate, there wouldn't be this much destruction! _ The dual-haired man screamed. Everyone knew that was a lie. There would only be _more_ destruction. The memory faded with the lashings to her skin and Rogue pulled his hands away from his partner's temples.

And he was shocked by being pulled into a hug.

"If I knew that was what you've been dealing with... I would have helped you sooner.."

"He's dead now, though," Rogue said numbly. "I only recently got that last part. The dragon ended up rebelling against his control and ate them both." His tone was monotonous, his face expressionless and his eyes dim. How could there be so much blood on one man's hands? One man... Who didn't do any of it?

Sting pulled back and scanned the face of his best friend quickly, worriedly, and bit his lower lip. "I... I know it's going to be hard. But you need to show Rufus."

The shadow mage felt his brows furrow. "Why?"

"He's a memory mage," Sting answered. "I know I killed people, but I don't remember a damn one of them because he deleted those memories for me. He's never done something this big, though... But it wouldn't hurt to try."

Rogue bit his lower lip, the idea of getting those horrid memories permanently removed from his brain seemed too good to be true. "How long does it take..?"

"About half an hour," Sting replied, his blue eyes holding more worry than ever. "Essentially, what happens is Rufus will remove the memory from you and give it to himself. But since he is a memory mage and can delete any memories he wants to from his own memory, he can dispose of it and not be bothered."

"But, Sting, you saw how bad those memories are. Rufus will be affected somehow."

The blond smiled awkwardly- smugly. "C'mon, give the jackass more credit. He remembers little to nothing about what he saw when he lived with his family. You _know_ where he came from and what his last name used to be. You _know_ he had to see some bad shit."

Rogue bit his lip again, thinking it over. "Do... Do you really think he'd be able to get rid of them?"

"Hopefully. Most of my memories were... Less impacting, though. So we won't really know until we try," he offered, watching his best friend carefully. "Are... Just in case push comes to shove, and you're forced to choose which one to get rid of, which-"

"The second." The answer was instant, solid, and unwavering. "I can deal with killing her more than... Than..."

"I get it... Are you going to be okay?"

"Eventually," he said with a sigh. "I just... Can't look at Minerva or Orga either... And even though I _know_ he killed you- I don't have to _see_ it... So seeing you is easier," he extrapolated. "Can you send Rufus here..? Maybe after I get this taken care of... Maybe then I can come back."

"Yeah," Sting answered, standing up and slipping his boots back on. "I'll send him over here in a bit. But man?"

"Yeah?"

"In the mean time, _take a fucking shower_."

* * *

Lucy sighed sadly, looking down at the box in her hands. It had been two months since Fairy Tail had gotten back together and she hasn't called or written to Ryos in that long. Furthermore, she hasn't heard back from him in that time, either. And that upset her greatly. Sure, she had been busy over the last two months but still... A letter would have been nice. To at least let her know that he got hers.

Only making matters worse, Erza and Jellal had biweekly rendezvous- and Erza only came over to her house once a week now, maybe. After Juvia and Gray had pretty much lived together for that year, they decided to continue that and let everyone know about their relationship. _Fucking finally_. Even though Juvia had openly pushed Gray to coming back over to Lucy's house more often, he didn't. He was still in the dumb ass mindset that he had to prove to her that she had nothing to worry about- even though she already knew that.

A small laugh left the blonde's mouth. Their relationship was rather cute. Gray was easily embarrassed by public displays of affection and Juvia was too confident about doing things like that. Lucy could remember when Gray got back from his first mission (after Fairy Tail had come together again) and she walked him to the middle of the guild, dipped him back, and kissed him _very heatedly_ , which made catcalls and whoops from everyone around them sound like a parade of cattle. The ice mage's face was so red and he stumbled over his words so quickly- which shocked everyone- while the water mage only smirked in victory.

Cute. As. Hell.

Lucy's eyes went up to the pictures lining her walls and, with each picture her eyes fell on, her sad smile only grew. Pictures of her team on various missions, on picnics, in the guild doing weird and random things... The whole nine yards. Natsu had just mated with Lisanna, as well. Again, that didn't bother her in the least bit... At least, until her best friend in the world was seemingly ignoring her. The blonde woman understood it, though, since they were newly mated (Levy had given her a book on this information, since the script mage was certain he'd mate with her and not Lisanna)... He was more possessive at the moment and, had it not been for the white haired woman, he probably wouldn't leave their home together if she didn't complain about it. At least not for a week or two. They had told her about it, but they have yet to tell the guild.

Even with that in mind, Lucy felt extremely forgotten. Erza, Gray, Natsu... Happy visited her at least twice a week, though, so there was that. And Wendy came over with Happy and Carla both. Levy still bothered her from time to time, too, but it wasn't the same as having someone freeze her arm chair while sitting buck ass naked in it, someone somehow burn the inside of the refrigerator, and having near constant cuts and sword marks in her counter top. It just... Wasn't the same without her team breaking in.

She sighed and pulled out a piece of paper. Lucy didn't have the guts to call him.. But she could write him a letter. That much was so much easier than calling him.

Though as soon as the pen was in her hand, it was like she didn't know what to write. She didn't know what to say or if he would get her letter and all of her doubts came flooding back. Maybe he didn't want to talk to her. Maybe he didn't want to see her. Maybe he didn't want to hear from her... Maybe..

"Lu-chan!"

A new, familiar voice startled the blonde and she dropped her pen, cursing slightly as she bent to pick it up. The woman sat the writing utensil down on the desk and made her way out of her room, carefully descending the stairs to see Levy smiling cheekily in her living room. Her brows furrowed in confusion- especially since the blue haired woman had something behind her back.

"Levy? What are you doing- and what on Earthland do you have?" she asked, approaching the woman.

She giggled and shook her head. "Have you been _talking_ to someone, Lu?"

The blonde woman's brows furrowed even further as she made her way to the kitchen. "No, I haven't," she responded honestly. It had been two months since she last spoke with Rogue, so it wasn't necessarily a lie... But even still. "Why do you ask?"

The script mage followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the table, crossing one leg over the other. "You're lying to me, Lu... Who is it?~"

The taller woman groaned slightly as she put the kettle on for tea. "No one-"

"Stop lying, Lu!"

She whirled around to see Levy's eat-shit grin and Lucy rolled her eyes. "If I tell you, will you get off my back?"

A shrug was her response.

"Ugh, you're impossible," she said, reaching over to grab her friend's elbow. Carefully, she guided her petite friend up the stairs and into her room- where she made sure the windows were locked before sitting on her bed. "Before I tell you- and I promise I will- what are you getting at?"

The blue haired woman only smiled and she pulled out a letter from behind her back. "I stopped by the post office to get some stamps.. I still have two more reports to send back to the Council and the Rune Knights.. And Thalia- you know the post lady- asked me to deliver this to you. It looks like a letter from a man, Lu-chan... Who have you been talking to?~"

The excitement that lit up her face must've been obvious at that point, but she wasn't about to tell Levy the whole truth. The little script mage could keep a secret about this stuff about as well as Mirajane could. No offense. When it came to important matters- like depression or nightmares or, hell, even her parents, Levy could keep secrets better than a journal you burned after you wrote something in it. But when it came to matters of the heart- liking someone, talking to someone, or anything that could be misinterpreted like that... Well, to say her lips were looser than a ten cent whore at a brothel would be giving her credit. Sure, she only talked to Mirajane about it, but that was _Mira_. Lucy would deal with it better if the woman told someone else- like Gajeel. At least that iron lug wouldn't poke and prod or meddle in her nonexistent love life.

"That must be from Sabertooth!" she exclaimed without thinking.

Levy's eyes were wide and her jaw went slack- along with the rest of her body. It was simple to snatch the letter from her hand at that point. "S-Sabertooth?! Who have you been talking to, Lucy?!"

Her brown eyes showed slight fear but she decided that a quick cover up was necessary. Tell the truth- just not the whole truth. "Well... It started when I worked for Sorcerer Weekly. They had me interview a few people from various guilds that I knew personally since they weren't able to land interviews with them. I had to interview Rogue and Minerva-"

"ROGUE?!"

"Levy, wait! Calm down!"

"YOU'VE BEEN TALKING TO _HIM,_ LU?!"

"LEVY!" Lucy screamed, finally getting the blue haired woman to calm down at least enough to stop yelling.

Her hazel eyes narrowed on Lucy's chocolate eyes, but she didn't say anything.

"I'm trying to explain to you what happened but I can't do that if you keep interrupting," the blonde said, raising both of her brows as though threatening to just not tell her best female friend. When there was no verbal response, the blonde continued. "Anyway, I keep in contact with everyone I interviewed now. Kagura, Chelia, Rogue, Minerva... I had to interview Bacchus and Cana, too. But that aside, Minerva and I ended up writing each other quite a bit more than I thought we would."

The blonde opened up the _second_ drawer of her desk- pointedly staying away from the third. The third held all of _his_ letters. She pulled out a stack of these letters and rummaged through them, tossing about fifteen of them onto her bed.

"Lucy, I'm pretty sure Minerva doesn't write like a man," she said, looking at the letters and the inconsistencies of the handwriting patterns.

"She doesn't," Lucy responded before sitting back on the bed. "But this is her writing. You can tell by about half way through her hand must have been cramping or something because it gets very messy after that. Sometimes," she paused reaching for five of the letters, "she'll make someone else in the guild write what she says for her. This one is Orga's writing, this one Rufus's, this is Yukino's, this is Sting's and this one is Dobengal's."

The blue haired woman looked over all the writing and then returned her attention to the way _Lucy Heartfilia_ was written on the front of this letter. "But no handwriting matches-"

"No, but I know that writing," Lucy said with a soft smile. "She probably got Rogue to write this one for her. I've only received... A handful of letters from him-" _which wasn't a lie, the letters could all fit in her hand... If she crammed them together-_ "but I know his writing enough to tell."

The script mage looked over the letters and, with a nod from the blonde, read the opened letters from the territory mage of Sabertooth. A soft smile came over her features and she shook her head. "So you two have gotten close?"

The blonde smiled back, pulling the letters from her friend's hands and put them back in her desk drawer (though she placed Rogue's on top of her desk to read later). "Yeah. In a sense. She's the one who told me you and Gajeel were a part of the Rune Knights. Without her telling me, I don't know if I would have been able to get a hold of you when we decided to round everyone up again."

"She better not take my place!" Levy teased with a good natured smile on her features.

Lucy laughed and shook her head. "Never. There's only one person who breaks into my house to steal my books, you know."

"And there better stay only one person," she said, wagging her finger at the taller woman.

They both laughed and went down for tea, talking about the adventures Levy had as a knight with Gajeel and Pantherlily. They traded stories- Lucy's about her various interactions with different guilds and guild members because of the magazine she worked for- and talked well into the night. Once the first yawn was had- by Levy- the two decided it was time to call it quits on the night and, when Levy left, she couldn't help but feel better about herself. It was like the petite mage knew exactly what she needed without Lucy even knowing what that thing was.

Not even waiting for a bath or anything to that effect, Lucy brushed her hand over Horologium's key as she literally _ran_ up the stairs. It was thirty minutes past midnight, and she knew that there was no way she would be able to sleep any time soon. Especially not since she _finally_ had a letter from the shadow mage.

She sat down at her desk once again and ran her hand over the envelope, biting her lower lip and attempting to calm the thudding in her chest. She tried, so hard, to play it off as excitement that came from how long it's been since she's spoken to him but... It was like even her conscious mind knew that was bullshit. Ever since that damned interview her thoughts and feelings had shifted considerably. Not a day went by where at _least_ his name didn't cross her mind. If not just his name, then memories of talking with him.. His letters... His laugh from that night...

Her hands were shaking slightly as she pulled the flap of the envelope and opened it. Inside was only one piece of paper- which was odd, considering he usually wrote her at least two pages... If not more. Her teeth then worried the flesh of her bottom lip, her palms sweating in anticipation, and her heart clutched with worry. Maybe he was actually telling her what she feared most- to leave him alone. To leave him be.

With now-trembling hands, she removed the single page and opened it.

And her heart _stopped._


	10. The Memories (III)

_**Author's Note** : Hey!_

 _So, here's the second chapter of the day (again, I really hope this makes up for not posting) and after this, we will get back to **Day Three** \- which we left off at in **Chapter Seven** if you guys need any refreshers. This gets us completely caught up with where the story began and, by the end of this chapter, a lot of hidden references throughout the story thus far will make sense. Annnnd future references too, of course!~_

 _I also want to thank **StuckBetweenShades** for such a wonderful review left that I was literally crying (but then again, I'm a giant wuss and cry over everything). I have to say that the responses to last chapter's cliff hanger made me laugh a lot- am I cruel? Maybe just a little. c; Another warning for you guys is that from here on out, the chapters will be getting longer and longer. I'm hoping to have this story completely wrapped up by chapter 27ish (yeah, there's more plot after these two nerds finally get together) and hopefully I won't have to go past that mark._

 _Anyway, I love you all and cannot thank you enough for the wonderful and continuous support. Onward to RoLu!_

* * *

 _ **The Memories (III)**_

Her heart couldn't take it. Her sweaty palms, her wide eyes, her mouth agape. Three words had dropped a bombshell on her life. The paper fluttered to the floor, landing face-up towards the ceiling. She was frozen. She couldn't move- she couldn't breathe... Three words was all it took to shake the foundation beneath her feet. And the moment she was able to regain composure, with tears lining her eyes, she scurried to pick up the paper. It was dated _today_ , meaning he must have hand delivered it to the Magnolia post office. And she didn't know how she should feel about that.

She expected something like **Leave me alone** or something to that effect... But instead she...

She got _I miss you_.

A shaky inhale left her hands quivering even more. Lucy raced over to her bed and she nearly tore the damn thing apart looking for where her Lacrima comm had fallen. Once it was in her hands, she didn't have the mind to scroll through contacts. No, she typed in a number she memorized so long ago and instantly hit call.

 _He missed her_.

The blonde thought he was never going to answer, but when he did, she was not disappointed. " _Lucy?_ " It was dark on the screen but she could still see his face. That scar along the bridge of his nose. Those ruby eyes that glimmered with their own life. Hell, he even had his hair pulled back in a pony tail. A tear must have fallen from her eyes or something because of the worry in his tone at his next words. " _Are you okay? What's wrong?_ "

"Where are you?" she asked, a wet laugh and a soft smile playing at her lips.

He furrowed his brows and ignored the question. " _I asked are you okay-_ "

"And I asked where are you."

He sighed and looked like he was walking somewhere, though with it being so dark she couldn't tell where he was from his surroundings. " _Open your window._ "

Her eyes widened and she tripped over herself rushing towards the bed again, her comm flying out of her hands and falling to the carpeted floor. She landed face first on the plush bed (thank fuck it wasn't the floor she landed on) and threw her window open with such momentum and force that she was thankful it didn't straight up _shatter_. There, on the cobblestone street beneath her window, stood the man that plagued her thoughts for _months_. The chill of the late night, mid-March air sent a small shiver down her back as the breeze lifted her hair. He spread his hands out wide, as though saying _here I am_ with body language alone, and that awkward smile that she could see on his face made her heart seize.

It was like her brain said _Fuck it all_ \- especially considering that she _jumped from her fucking window_ without hesitation or remorse. Or regret.

His eyes were wide as she jumped from the second story. Yes, he caught her in his arms but _still_. "What the _fuck_ , Lucy?! You could have killed yourse-... L-Lucy?"

His brain was going at _least_ fifty miles an hour. Her hands were clutching at his shirt like he was the only thing holding her to Earthland. Her legs were wrapped around his torso, her head buried against his shoulder, and he couldn't say he minded holding her up like that. The scent of her tears still permeated the air around him. The feeling of her shaking- shaking from what he _knew_ wasn't the chilly air- made his heart ache. She was sobbing against his shoulder and _fuck_ if he felt bad about anything before, that feeling was nothing compared to how bad he currently felt. And he didn't even know why he felt this bad!

"I-I thought.. I thought you h-hated me," she whispered, hiccuping through her words. He froze but soon regained what little composure he had left and tightened his hold around her. "Y-You didn't write or c-call and I thought I lost... I lost you..."

Lucy, though embarrassed by her own words, couldn't stop them from coming out. She knew for a fact she thought of him as more than a friend- hell, if the way he plagued her thoughts said anything, she was certain all of her spirits knew as well. She's liked him- at _least_ liked- for a little over ten months now. The way they would not only call each other late at night and talk until the sun rose or until she fell asleep, but also the way they wrote letters as though it were still the year X295... His soothing voice, his collected demeanor, his straightforward words... Not to mention the birthday present he'd given her (a black shirt that wore like a dress on her and had a white centaur on it with the words _Sagittarians do it better_ on it... Sagittarius beamed in pride every time she wore it, too).

She got him a birthday present that mocked what he got her- a white shirt with a black lion on it and read _Leos do it **best**_.

His hold on her didn't loosen or drop, though, and he rubbed her back gently. "I'm sorry," he whispered, rubbing his cheek slightly against hers. It was taking everything he had in him, every ounce of control remaining, to not just rub up against her like a fucking _cat_ and leave his scent all over her. "I thought you'd be too busy..."

"I'm never too busy for you," she whispered back, her tears finally slowing down.

And that thought scared the _shit_ out of Rogue.

He was way too comfortable with her, too relaxed with her in his arms. He felt too right, too complete, and _holy shit did it scare the fuck out of him._ He wasn't supposed to let her in so easily and he sure as hell wasn't supposed to feel so at _home_ with her in his arms. Sure, he felt a little better with Minerva or Yukino gave him hugs, or when Orga or Sting was around him.. But this? This was something different. Something else. And he had to brush it off somehow. So, mentally, he said it was because she was outside of his guild and having a home away from home was what made him feel that way.

Even if he knew for a damn fact that the thought was a lie, it was the only thing that made the moment less anxiety-inducing for him.

It was almost one o'clock in the morning, but he didn't care. And it didn't look like Lucy cared either. "Hey, lets get you cleaned up, okay?" he whispered, still rubbing her back gently. She nodded against his shoulder and let go of him- instantly shivering at the warmth that was missing from her body now. She then went to open the door... Only to remember it was locked. Her keys were still inside, too. A small groan left her and he chuckled at her, but unlike glaring at him (like she would anyone else), she just turned and cocked a hip.

"Go in through my window and come open the door for me," she said. It was the only time she would ever give someone _permission_ to enter her house through her window.

He shook his head to deny her and when she was about to argue it, he picked her up in his arms again. And, the world around them shifted.

Her body felt light, fluid even, and her head felt like it was spinning. Darkness consumed her and yet she felt safe about it. She felt... Welcomed. Her eyes were wide when she realized that she couldn't feel- nor could she tell- where Rogue ended and she began, but that made no difference as to what was happening now. She could see the world, but it seemed so much larger than it actually was. She felt like an ant with how large everything seemed and, when she stuck her hand out, nothing but the shadowed silhouette of her hand came up. The shadows seemed to lick at her skin, permeate her flesh, and seep from her pores all at once and _holy shit did it feel awesome_.

But what felt better? What felt even better than that was when they _moved_. He guided her- his arms still around her (that much she could _feel_ even if she still didn't know where he ended and she began)- through the cracks in the cobblestones and under the door of her house. Her bottom floor was _covered_ in shadows, considering the light was off, and their movement was much quicker than it felt like it was. Lucy knew that it took less that three seconds to melt into the shadows, crawl under her door, and sneak over to her kitchen where they became corporeal again. But it _felt_ like _minutes_. And, if she were honest, it felt like she could have lost a part of herself.

The way the shadows fell from her and her body seemed to collect new ones in order to creep along made her worry ever so slightly about popping back up with a missing limb. What's more, she was also slightly worried that she might come back with one of Rogue's limbs attached to her with how their bodies seemed conjoined. However, she _did_ notice that it seemed like all of her senses- while in the shadows- were heightened to extremes. She could see better than ever, smell better than ever, feel every nerve ending that the shadows licked... She could hear everything- the pulsing of the water in the canals even through the layers of stone... It was an experience she'd give the world to have again. Without the _shadow_ of a doubt.

A soft giggle escaped her lips and she looked up at Rogue, who wiped at her cheek in a caring manner. "What's so funny?" he asked, his tone of voice speaking levels of obvious amusement.

"That was so cool," she said, her brown eyes lighting up excitedly. "Is that what it's like every time you do that?"

He chuckled openly and nodded. "Every time."

"You lucky ass," she gave him a half-hearted glare. "Consider me a jealous bitch because that's _so_ unfair."

He laughed, this time louder, and leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. "I could never consider you a bitch."

"Pfft. You obviously don't know me well enough, then," she teased, smiling at him happily.

His ruby eyes sparkled in some unseen light that nearly stole her breath from her. "Maybe I just need a reminder. I can only remember certain things from that interview night, you know," he teased right back.

"Oh?" She was breathless. She could see the lie in his eyes and hear it in his voice. She _knew_ he remembered everything from that night just the way she did.

A smirk lifted one side of his mouth. "Yep. What was your name again, beautiful?"

If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that she had just died and gone to the starry heavens. Again, her breath seemed to escape her and her ability to form words left for at least twenty whole seconds before she cleared her throat. "It's.. Uh... Georgia, I think. I dunno, I hit my head pretty hard a while back... Might have amnesia," she mocked, trying to cover up her embarrassment at him stealing her brain function from her.

"Ahh, Miss Georgia, is it?" he mocked back, taking her hand in his and placing a small kiss to the top of it. "A pleasure to meet you."

Rogue was in no position to question his actions. Not when they came so naturally. Not when they felt so... So right. Confusion and embarrassment could be saved for later, considering who was right in front of him. Considering what he felt. That weird, warm feeling in his chest. That wonderful scent of this woman was wrapped completely around him and he knew that if he were to keel over and die in this moment, he would die happy. And that was a weird thought and an even weirder feeling. Especially for him. His anxiety briefly gripped his heart, but all it took was another small breath for her scent to throw anxiety out the window.

"I brought you something," he said, not waiting for her reply to his sarcasm.

Her brown eyes blinked in sheer confusion at the sudden shift, but she didn't think more about it. "You did?"

"I did," he nodded, reaching back into his cloak. It took him a second- a second that let anticipation grip at Lucy's heart- before he pulled out a little black box from the pocket on his cloak.

Her brows furrowed as she was handed the black box, though when she opened the box her eyes bugged out of her head. " _Captain Ishgar: Civil War_?!" she exclaimed, looking up at him with wide eyes. He smiled warmly at her and she just gaped at the little thing in her hands. When she had originally heard that the superhero was getting _another_ movie, she wasn't too interested but when she heard it was very loosely based off of the war with Tartaros... It drew her attention more. And, the score from the critics was rather high- which was extremely surprising, considering the critics usually completely tore apart these superhero movies.

"I remember you said something about being curious about it one night- oOF!"

He was cut off when she threw herself into his arms. He didn't hesitate to hug her back and hold her there.

"You're the greatest, Ryos."

He held back the shudder that came from her using his name like that. "How about you pop us some popcorn and I'll get this movie set up."

She pulled back enough to look up at him with excited eyes. "Y-You'll stay and watch it with me?"

"Of course I will," he nodded, pulling her back against him for a second before fully pulling away. "I figured you could use a little break."

She blushed and smiled even wider and nodded. "You... You're the best."

"I told you," he started as he leaned down, their noses mere centimeters apart now, "we Sagittarians do it better.~"

She bit back a laugh- he could tell from the way she bit her lip while smiling in _that_ manner. "And I told _you,_ Leos do it _best_."

He chuckled softly and shook his head, plucking the little black box from her hands and striding over to the entertainment center she had in her living room. He barely had the crystal in the reader box when he heard her speak up.

"Hey, Ryos?"

"Yes?" he responded, pausing the movie the moment it came on. He _could_ have let it play through the stupid previews, but he decided against it.

She leaned on the counter separating the kitchen from her living room, her chin in the palm of her right hand. "How long were you out there?"

His red eyes widened and as much as he tried to stop it, he couldn't stop the blush settling over his cheeks. "U-Uh... Long enough to have to dodge Levy when she came out," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

When he looked back up at her, he noticed that her cheeks were faintly pink but... Her smile spoke levels to him. That smile was fond, warm... Enchanted, even. She wasn't laughing at him, she was happy. And, thank everything holy, that knowledge helped his own face cool down some.

"That popcorn is about to burn, you know," he offered, the smell of popcorn being a smidge too hot getting to his nose. It wasn't burned but if she left it in there any longer, he knew that smell would turn to a much more foul scent.

Her eyes widened and she ran over to get the popcorn and promptly came back and sat down on the couch with him. While he expected her to sit on the opposite side of the couch- and he'd later sneak his arm around her- she instantly sat next to him and leaned against his side. Not that he minded in the least bit. His arm then went around her waist as she hit play on the little handheld remote and the movie began.

Now, don't get him wrong. Rogue actually liked the movie, but he had seen it before with Sting and the gang at Orga's house. It was a damn good movie, but... The way the artificial light was lighting up her face. The way her expressions gave away everything she felt about what was happening on the screen. The way she snuggled closer to him during the sadder parts of the movie or the parts that were almost too reminiscent of the war they both fought in... To say she was holding his attention better than the movie was- that would be the understatement of the century. Once again, he felt like he shouldn't look away from her and was paying more attention to her person than what was happening around them.

Damn. He was kind of terrified of the idea of them having to go on a mission together. Luckily he didn't have to worry about that considering that they were in different guilds.

* * *

That night was a memory now. The only memory that helped her through these times. That night in mid-March was the last time she saw Rogue face to face in a while, and she regretted falling asleep on the couch against him. Sure, he had left behind a note after tucking her into bed... And yes, they talked to each other every night after that on the Lacrima Comm... And okay, maybe they still wrote each other at least once a week... But that didn't sate her need to see him again. In fact, she was certain that he could be standing right in front of her and she would still not be able to have that need sated.

Which is why she took this job with her team in the first place. It was near that same town Sabertooth was located at. Sure, they were still a good two hours away from the guild but she was closer to him here than she was back home. That's what mattered, right? It was late August currently and... She wanted nothing more than to finish this job and see if she could sneak over and see the shadow dragon slayer.

The stupid monster hunting job she was currently on had the original members of Team Natsu there (and Lisanna, since Mates can't go more than a week away from one another without it physically and magically draining them). Lucy felt like her legs were going to give out at any moment now, but she was powering through it. Most of these stupid crocotta were already dead and there were only three argus left. The pack of crocotta had been guarded by vulcans, but she didn't understand why those stupid monkey beasts would ever protect one toothed hyena-lions with a their spines on the _outside_ of their bodies.

And the argus were worse. She lost count of how many eyeballs those stupid giants had. It was disgusting.

They were in the swamp lands, the disgusting waters coming up to just beneath her knees as she, Taurus and Loke fought off the last of the crocetta (while Natsu, Erza, and Gray handled the last of the giant ogre things that she nearly vomited upon seeing). Their backs were against the wall, but she couldn't stop. No, their lives depended on her win against the last three mutated beasts.

"Lucy!" she heard Erza yell. "Aquarius could take care of this easy! Call her!"

The blonde froze. That's right. They still didn't know. They _left_ her _alone_ after she had to _sacrifice_ her dearest friend to save their lives. They _abandoned her_ with her only company being the pain she felt. They were the reason her beloved companion wasn't around anymore. They were the ones she wanted to save the most but _they left her behind without a second thought._ She was convinced that they didn't even care about what she actually felt.

"I've got this, Erza, don't worry about it!"

"Lucy! Natsu and Lisanna are almost down for the count and I know you can't keep this up much longer!"

"Erza I can't-"

"LUCY! YOU NEED TO CALL AQUARIUS," the red head shouted at her.

She had _no fucking room_ to tell her what to do. None. Not when she sacrificed _the last thing connecting her to her mother_ the way Aquarius did to save their lives. And they _left her behind_. That stupid, egotistical, self-righteous red head needed to take a step back.

The second she thought that, Loke and Taurus looked back at her with wide eyes. They knew what she had just thought. They knew she was about to lose it.

And they were right.

"GET OFF MY FUCKING CASE, ERZA!" she shouted angrily, changing from her Leo star dress to her Taurus star dress- nearly getting to the point of needing to use her second origin.

"LUCY WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Gray shouted, more scared _for_ the blonde woman than anything else.

The woman growled audibly, tears stinging her brown eyes as she powered through everything. "I SAID GET OFF MY CASE!" she screeched, her whip doing such massive damage that she easily took out the final three beasts she was against and nearly tore the beast Erza was fighting in half. "I'll take care of MY OWN PROBLEMS," she continued, using that same whip to pick up the argus Natsu was fighting and throw it against Gray's target. "I DON'T NEED YOUR FUCKING HELP!"

" _ **LUCY!**_ " Loke's yell almost didn't reach her ears- no matter how loud it was. One of his arms went around her waist and the other held her arms back. "Taurus _go back now_!" the leader of the zodiac yelled. The bull nodded sadly and was gone half a second later, forcing the woman out of the star dress.

"GET OFF OF ME, LOKE!"

"YOU'RE GOING TO HURT YOURSELF AGAIN, LUCY, CALM DOWN," he yelled in her ear, struggling to restrain her.

She screamed out, managing to wiggle her way out of the lion's hold when she ran straight into the arms of Virgo, who simply held her there like offering her a hug instead of restraining her. When her maid spirit had shown up, she didn't know and didn't care. Lucy tried to worm out of the hold, but couldn't find the strength to. She was magically exhausted, physically exhausted, mentally and emotionally exhausted... She was just... Done. She shook violently, crying her eyes out as she fell to her knees- Virgo going down and sitting in the murky (and disgusting) waters with her while holding her closely. The pink haired spirit held the woman's face to her shoulder and calmly soothed the blonde woman to the best of her ability.

Loke turned around and sighed, rounding up the other four members of the team. Erza looked both pissed and worried, Lisanna was on the verge of rushing to Lucy's side, and Gray and Natsu both just looked like confused dogs who had been told to head in three different directions at the same time.

"She'll be okay come morning," the lion explained, looking back at the maiden holding his princess.

Erza stepped forward. "I demand to know what's going on."

"Demanding to know won't get you anywhere, Erza, back up," the zodiac leader snarled out, getting in her face without fear- something he never would have done before. "She's been put through hell on Earthland- to the point none of us in the Spirit World thought she would make it out of there alive. She's been through more shit than I care to think of and she's braving her ass through it. Get off your high horse and realize that sometimes, things _don't go your way for a reason_."

Her eyes were dangerous, not taking too kindly to someone yelling at her or getting in her face. "I'm worried about her, Loke. And I demand to know-"

" _Get off your high horse, you have no right to demand anything_ ," he snarled out.

"Excuse you?" she retorted, her temper flaring.

"I hate to break it to you, Titania, you're a demanding _bitch_ right now. You're no queen, no empress, no princess, no ruler of _anything_. Therefore you have _no right_ to forcibly command and demand things the way you do. Especially to _me_ , who is _rightfully_ a member of celestial royalty. Back. Off."

While she wanted nothing more than to strike out at the celestial spirit, three things stopped her. How he was right (though she would _never_ admit that), how if she did strike him Lucy would only get worse, and Gray's hand on her shoulder.

"You may be one of the physically strongest women I know- and I respect you greatly for that- but Lucy is going through shit you guys can't help her with. I can't even help her with it and _it fucking kills me to know that,_ " he said, finally backing away from the red head to look back at Virgo holding Lucy up like the Princess she is. She had cried herself to sleep in these murky waters. "Give her time. Just. Don't force her to do anything or yell at her to do anything right now. Please."

"Can we have an idea of what happened?" Lisanna asked, worry swimming in those blue eyes of hers. Loke smiled at her and turned that smile to Titania as well.

He took a deep breath and swallowed his pride- something _excruciatingly_ hard to do. "I apologize for my outburst, Erza. I'm just... Extremely worried about her."

She nodded, smiling back at him. "I won't say I'll forget or that it didn't hurt, but I do respect that you apologized and I can forgive you."

He nodded and looked back at Virgo, who nodded at him. "She had a falling out with Aquarius, to put it... Nicely. She does better when she forgets about that.. So if you can distract her from that for a while, that would be awesome."

"But if she had a falling out, wouldn't it make more sense to confront the problem?" Gray asked, raising a brow.

He bit his lower lip and looked to Lucy. "She's tried. We're working on... Talking... To Aquarius in the Spirit World to try and help things on our end."

"Ohh so you just need time to fix things with her enough to get her to come back to Lucy?" Natsu asked, nodding sagely as though he now understood all of the world's problems.

"...Kind of."

"Big Brother, I'll take Princess back home and get her bathed."

"Please do." The lion sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did so.

The white haired woman stepped forward, looking up at the man with those same worried eyes. "Can I ask one more question?" she asked softly, and waited until she got a nod in response. "Where did that strength come from..?"

"Yeah, I was wondering that too!" Natsu shouted, turning to Loke as well.

 _Shit_. Loke knew Lucy didn't want everyone knowing the fruits of her training yet- since she hasn't completed all five spells they were trying to teach her... How was he going to cover this up?! He smiled as though without worry and shook his head, deciding that a lie was better than outing her before she was ready. "Taurus's massive physical strength. You've seen it in action and know that the star dresses give her a portion of our power. She hasn't mastered his star dress yet and I think she managed to use that much strength by accident because-"

"Because I pushed her to," Erza finished.

Leo winced, not meaning that to sound the way it did. "...In a sense, yes. Emotions fuel your magic, after all."

The group nodded and he bowed to them. "I'll be leaving to check up on Virgo and Lucy. She's probably taking her back to her apartment, so-"

"Don't worry, man, we'll turn this mission in and bring her the jewel later," Gray finished, nodding towards his friend.

The lion smiled the best he could and disappeared in a puff of shimmer.

* * *

Rogue paced back and forth in his room and he was almost certain there would be an indentation in the carpets where he had paced. Frosch was asleep on his bed, snoozing the night away but Rogue couldn't find peace in sleeping. He just couldn't. Lucy had told him that she was going on a Monster Hunt mission a little over a month ago and she hasn't answered any of his calls... She hasn't sent him any more letters... It was like she hadn't existed past the night she told him they were leaving out. And that worried the hell out of him.

He was almost certain something horrible had happened to her and, even though his logical mind said he shouldn't be worried about her, his heart wouldn't agree with that side of his brain. His heart clenched and it felt like someone had burned straight through his chest. He had never worried about someone this much and though he should have been scared of that, he wasn't. No, he was too consumed with that feeling of dread to be scared of his feelings. He didn't know what he would do if she wasn't there anymore.

 _Go back to how things were before._

He growled angrily, loudly, at that thought. He _couldn't_ go back to how things were. She had made too much of an impact on his life to simply throw in the towel and give up on her. He couldn't go back to the way things were. Maybe he could call her again-

 _No._

She would have answered any of the other... He checked his lacrima for an exact number... She would have answered any of the other fifty three times he had called her over the last month. And, at that thought, he paused. Was he being too clingy? Is that why she wasn't responding to him? That had to be the reason. He was acting like an overprotective, possessive boyfriend and she was probably just needing a breath of fresh air-

 _Boyfriend?_

He chewed on his bottom lip at that word. Commitment was something he was downright _terrified_ of... Why did he think of that word?

Rogue sighed heavily and plopped a seat back on his bed, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. He just needed _something_ to let him know she was okay.. That she was safe. He couldn't spend this time worrying. He couldn't spend this time freaking out. No, he had to make sure she was okay. Somehow, someway, he had to find out. Standing up, he looked back at his sleeping exceed, biting his lower lip so hard he almost made it bleed. Just as he reached for his cloak, there was a knock to his front door. His brows furrowed and he grew confused, but he soon found himself at the front door.

It smelled like her... But it wasn't her. The scent was _like_ hers, very close to it, but... Not quite _Lucy_.

When he opened the door, he was pretty damn shocked to see a man with wild hair standing there in a suit and blue sunglasses.

"Rogue Cheney?" he asked.

The dragon slayer's heart felt like it was about to shatter. Why did he smell so much like her? Why was he saying his name like some sort of bad-news-bearer that the kingdom sent to family members when a soldier died in combat? Who was he? Why was he panicking when none of his assumptions could be true?

He cleared his throat and nodded. "That's me."

A sad smile lifted the corners of the man's lips and he stuck his hand out for a shake. "I'm Leo, leader of the Zodiac and Lucy's most trusted spirit. Call me Loke."

Red eyes went wide and that fear gripping at the edges of his sanity felt that much more _real_ knowing who this man was. He took the spirit's hand in a firm and solid shake before releasing it and stepping aside slightly. That explained why he smelled so much like Lucy, at least. "Loke then... Come in, I can brew some tea."

"I don't have time for tea, I just... Came to explain something on behalf of our Princess."

"Princess?" Rogue inquired in a confused manner, watching the spirit as he stood in the foyer of his home. "You mean Lucy?"

The lion chuckled and nodded. "She's the rightful Princess of the Spirit World. Even our King sees her as his illegitimate daughter..." he explained with a soft, fond smile set on his features. It took a second before the man took a shaky breath before talking. "Lucy... Doesn't mean to hurt or scare you. She's just... Going through some really rough stuff right now. She's ignored everyone's calls and letters and even had Freed put runes around her house to keep literally everyone out."

Rogue's brows furrowed but he exhaled a deep breath he didn't realize he was holding. "At least she's alive..." he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Did she send you?"

"No," he said, a dark shadow coming over his face. "My King did."

"Th-The King? Why?"

Loke shook his head. "You two are morons, that's why. Just know that she isn't meaning to push you out."

"How-" Rogue started, only to pause and think over his words before speaking again. "How can I help her?"

The lion looked like he was internally fighting something but he just sighed in the end. "She has serious abandonment issues. Just let her know you'll be there for her and, when she cries, make sure you listen. That's the best way."

Rogue nodded and clenched his fists, wanting nothing more than to run over to Magnolia and soothe the blonde no matter what it took, but the spirit put his hand on his shoulder and brought him back to reality.

"There's nothing any of us can do right now. She needs time. But," he said, wondering if he should give this much information about the future he had seen in the waters in the Spirit World... But he decided that it was best to let the slayer know before something bad came of him trying to fight fate. The lion knew, however, that he had to be careful about his words and not tell too much. "..Let's keep it at this. The Spirits can see small and brief glimpses of future events sometimes. I know for a fact she'll be here with _you_ in a few months. Just... Give her that time."

The blush that settled on Rogue's cheeks would be enough to startle anyone who knew the usually private man, but he nodded in response to the spirit. "I... I will. Just..."

Loke took a step back to leave but waited patiently for the next line from his mouth, that honestly shocked the spirit.

"Protect her when I can't."

Again, it looked as though there was some sort of internal war going on in the spirit's head but he eventually smiled and nodded. "With my life."


	11. The Confession

_**Author's Note:** YOOOOOOOO_

 _I am so hype for this chapter to FINALLY come out. So hype. So very, very hype. Because it means that things are finally going to start following the line of events up to the plot and augh. So hype. To **StuckBetweenShades** I stay about four or five chapters ahead of the game and try to write at least half of the NEXT chapter every time I upload one. That's how I can keep churning them out c; There might be a point in the future where I have to make the updates slower- maybe every other day instead of every day- but that hasn't come yet._

 _To **Tiger Priestess** ; Bingo! We have a winner! They haven't been told. At all. _

_This is the longest chapter up to this point with over 8 thousand words- but future chapters are much longer than this one is so that isn't saying all that much. Things are going to start hitting the fan and moving a little faster at this point!_

 _Thank you guys for your support and love for the story! Here we go!_

* * *

 _Previously: Day 3, Chapter 7..._

 _She glanced at Lucy before returning her eyes to Rufus. "Where are you?"_

 _"The guild library-"_

 _"Turn the volume all the way down, I don't want the dragons hearing this…" Once he nodded, she continued on with a small plan for her and Lucy- which meant Rufus would man the bar. And, for once, he agreed without complaint._

* * *

 _ **The Confession**_

Three hours after Sting and Rogue had arrived at the guild to do the paperwork needed, and after another emotional talk, the two slayers had grown extremely worried when they had not seen- nor smelled- the celestial wizards. As they approached the bar, Rufus had a knowing grin on his face once more. He called for Dobengal to take over for a brief moment while he escorted the slayers.

After realizing where they were heading, Sting and Rogue walked beside- rather than behind- the memory mage and spoke in soft, idle chatter as they approached the training grounds.

Where their jaws promptly dropped.

The field itself looked like an absolute mess- holes dug all over the place, craters found nearly everywhere in the ground. There were mounds of dirt, clay, and soil all over the place and it didn't look like a speck of grass remained anywhere over the area.

"Concentrate, Yukino!" Lucy shouted- almost angrily, but the tone was more worried than angry. "If you lose concentration even once it _will_ be your demise!"

Said mage was on the opposite side of the training field, holding her gut tightly and panting heavily. "Lucy, I don't think-"

"Don't tell me that, Yukino! Don't forget what you said this morning!"

A renewed determination lit up the tigress's eyes and she held her hand out for Libra- whom the males _just_ noticed was there. "Let's try again! Libra, Star dress!"

"Concentrate! Now!" Lucy shouted from her side, wearing her Scorpio Star dress with that same spirit standing inches behind her.

The men watched as magical power swirled in a large circle around Yukino as she scrunched her face up in pain and concentration. The squeezing on her side grew tighter and Libra looked a little worried at this point- and Sting was about ready to run out there and fight Lucy for the pain she was putting his mate through. However, Rufus's hand on his shoulder was the only thing stopping him from doing anything other than just growling loudly.

"Libra, _**NOW!**_ " Lucy screamed.

The spirit nodded and lifted her leg, reversing the position of her scales as her eyes began glowing.

And then, _finally_ , Yukino's appearance changed. Her face was covered by a light teal veil and her bust was covered by a teal colored chain mail bikini-top. Her legs were covered by a dark teal, flowy silken material adorned with several gold chains, that material having the Libra symbol in white on it. Her feet were covered by light teal flats and her hands had heavy teal chains (and shackles- almost reminiscent of Virgo instead of Libra) on them as well. Her eyes widened and she looked to her spirit and they both looked completely ecstatic about the development.

Lucy, ignoring everything else, ran at Yukino full speed. "Try and use a spell!"

A small sense of panic flared up in the light haired woman but the spirit at her side gave her a reassuring nod. "Just as we practiced," the spirit said.

Yukino put her palms out and twisted them slightly. "GRAVITY REVERSAL!" she shouted.

It took a little longer than expected, as Lucy was only five feet away by the time the spell began working, but Lucy was lifted into the air and thrown off balance. It didn't last long, though, as Yukino fell to the ground and Libra went down with her, checking her over.

Lucy spun and landed on her feet, hugging Scorpio and thanking him before sending him off and returning to the attire she had originally showed up in. "Libra, we need to stop now," the blonde said softly. The spirit nodded, said her goodbyes, and Yukino was left with Lucy sitting next to her as she panted heavily.

"That," she spoke before pausing for a deep gasp of air, "took a lot more magic than I thought.."

"Yukino!" Sting shouted, racing after her, Rogue following in his tracks. The guild master dropped to his knees, his hands touching every part of his mate he could reach. "Are you okay..?"

"Yeah," she breathed out. "Just… Didn't think it would be this hard is all."

Sting whirled around, his arms still around the light blue haired woman. "What the **fuck** , Lucy?! What was this bullshit-"

"This was not her fault," Rogue intervened, his red eyes narrowing against Sting's own narrowed eyes. "They were training and I'm damn certain Yukino looked more determined than Lucy. Back. Up," he hissed out, not hesitating to get in the Holy Dragon's personal space.

"It's not, Sting," Yuki said, placing a kiss to his cheek and watching as he visibly calmed quite a bit. "I made her promise me that we wouldn't stop until I could do at least one spell in a star dress today. And we don't go back on our promises, you know that."

Sting, at that point, had fully relaxed and looked up to see Lucy's eyes suddenly a little duller than they were moments ago. "I… I'm sor-"

"Don't be," Lucy interrupted, "I should have protested harder this morning when we decided on it... I had to convince Stache Fac- ehr, the King, too.. But I have a promise set with him about that later. If anything, I should have listened to the King and protested harder this morning..."

Rogue turned around and placed his hands on the blonde woman's shoulders, bending down a little to look her in the eyes. "It's not your fault, Lucy. It's nobody's fault. She wasn't aware of how hard it would be and you were trying to be a good friend."

She nodded, not saying another word. The tense silence lasted for a moment longer before she broke it. "I… Need a bath. I feel the dirt in my hair and it's grossing me out," she said with a soft smile on her face.

Yukino looked up at her, upset and distraught. "Lucy… Do you want to take one together?"

The stronger celestial spirit mage shook her head, that painfully obviously fake smile written on her face. "I remember something about the mating of dragon slayer and their mate will heal wounds faster, though~" she sent a wink their way- her smile just a little wider and a little more real in that moment.

Sting picked Yukino up and held her in his arms. "Are you sure you're okay going alone, Blondie?"

"Yea-"

"She's not going alone," Rogue interrupted. "I'll be home with her."

Sting and Yukino nodded, the latter apologizing once more as they left. Rufus, sometime in the middle of all that, had returned to the guild and that left Rogue and Lucy outside alone. His eyes watched her face, having never looked away from her. She sighed at him.

"You don't have to-"

"Yes I do. You're hurting," he insisted.

Lucy looked down at herself in a sarcastic manner, noticing that she had little to no bruising or scratches anywhere. While Yukino looked like a train had hit her. It made the blonde's gut twist, but she kept her mask on. "I'm fine-"

"Physically you are. Lucy," he said softly, placing his hand on her chin to make her look up at him, "please… I just… I just want to help. That's all any of us want to do, but you're keeping us from doing that. You've helped Orga and Minerva and now Yukino… But you're not letting us in."

"Don't take it personally," she said, looking away from him as much as she could. "I do that to everyone."

Rogue bent a little more and scooped her up before he began walking back towards his house with her in his arms. "Well… If you ever decide to talk, I'll be right here."

Her hand clenched the fabric of his shirt hard, wrinkling the fabric around her fingers. "...That… Thanks… It means a lot…"

He had brought her back to his house, set her down in his room and slipped into the bathroom to draw a hot bath for her. By the time she had gathered her things for said bath, it was ready for her to slip in. Rogue left the bathroom to give her the privacy she needed and flopped down on his couch, pulling out his lacrima comm to call and check on Frosch, since the man honestly had no idea when he'd be going back to the guild to get his exceed partner. Rufus soon answered and smiled knowingly- as always with him.

" _Frosch is here with me,_ " the blond man said before the other could say anything. " _I told him that Lucy wasn't feeling too well so you brought her home first and would be back when she was feeling better._ "

Rogue blinked, appalled, but soon smiled gratefully. "I owe you one, Rufus. I'll pay for you a three day vacation sometime."

The blond man chuckled. " _I'll remember that._ "

"I know you will." The two men were silent a moment, since the slayer had a look of deep thought etched across his face. He wanted to ask something but he wasn't sure _how_ to ask it.

" _Rogue_ ," the blond began, " _tell me. If Lucy is your mate, why have you not told her yet?_ "

Shocked by the bluntness of the question, the shadow mage choked on the breath he was inhaling and nearly dropped his comm device. After regaining his composure- well, as much as he could- he continued. "How the hell did you know?! Did Sting-"

" _Our Master told me nothing. In fact, I wasn't aware he knew until you just said something- oh, one moment,_ " the memory mage said before putting the communication device down and mixing someone's drink. Once the drink was handed out to the right person, he was back on the screen. " _I figured out on my own. I remember all of those little displays you two gave us and with the look on your face last night- as well as your actions- I had pieced the puzzle together on my own._ "

"Shit."

" _Forgot I was there, mm?_ " he teased, that mask covering what Rogue just _knew_ was a pair of raised, amused eyebrows. " _It took Frosch, myself, and Lady Lucy to snap you out of your trance and even then she was the one who ended up having to carry Frosch home._ "

Rogue groaned loudly and ran a hand over his face. "Well... I don't plan on telling her any time soon, if that's what you're getting at."

He saw the man inhale for a breath before it looked like the lacrima was snatched forcibly from his hands. " _What the FUCK do you mean-_ " and _there_ was Minerva's face finally on screen, " _-not telling her?!_ "

Well, at least he knew she and Orga were done acting like rabbits in heat for the time being. Here came the sigh. At least he was a little more comfortable with the woman than the man that was previously on the screen. No offense to Rufus. "Exactly what it means. I'm not telling her. I can't-"

" _Oh no you FUCKING don't, pretty boy_ ," she scolded, her eyes narrowing dangerously. " _That is a very VERY close friend of mine you're talking about. We're also talking about her happiness here. You need to Pussy Up and-_ "

" _Pussy up..?_ " said Orga from somewhere in the unseen background.

" _Yeah. Why grow a pair of balls when they're sensitive, dangling, an easy target and get hurt easily? If you want courage and strength, try a vagina. These things take a pounding._ "

Rogue was certain he had never had to force down this much laughter in his life. She had said it so casually, too. And he was certain Orga just lost about half of his drink through his nose from the laughing, spit take sound, and the groaning about needing napkins in the background.

" _Anyway, as I was saying. Pussy up and get this shit out of the way, because I can tell you she would feel so much better about it._ "

Rogue shook his head. "I can't, Minerva. She has so much on her plate right now and definitely does _not_ need this added stress on top of it."

The woman groaned angrily, looking frustrated enough to throw the lacrima comm out the window. " _Mother fuck, Rogue. You're a bastard, you know that, right?_ "

"What-"

" _Just.. Fucking trust me. At least bring up the subject to her. Not necessarily being all 'hey! you're my mate!' but ask her what she knows about it,_ " Mini pushed, her eyes determined.

Rogue groaned and nodded. "Fine, fine. Just do me a favor?"

" _Name it._ "

"Have Orga call Laxus for me. Tell him that Slayer's night needs to be moved from the bar to our guild hall."

There was some shuffling, the woman disappeared from screen, and now a set of angry eyes (though they weren't actually angry) were staring him down. " _The hell do you mean? Will he ask me any shit 'bout that?_ "

"He might ask why," Rogue started, raising his brows at the god slayer, "but just tell him that I said there's too much delicate information to talk about this time to do it in the open."

" _OH HELL NO-_ " and Minerva was seen again, yanking the comm from her boyfriend's hands. " _What do you MEAN too much delicate information?! You are NOT telling them about Lucy-_ "

He grunted before cutting her off. "I'm telling them about the mating issue here, Minerva. Asking for advice. I'd never betray her trust like that."

All was silent and still before Rufus came back on the comm. " _I do think you have enough on your own plate right now, as well. I'll have Orga call Laxus in a moment. You take care- of yourself, and of the Lady._ "

Rogue nodded. "Right. Will do. Thank you."

Rufus nodded back to the black haired man, who ended the call. Rogue groaned and he threw his comm across the room- not even caring about how it could have shattered- before holding his face in his hands. He didn't know what to do and his friends weren't helping in the least bit.

* * *

"Are you sure that was the right thing to do..?"

Silence fell over the people- or rather, the spirits- at the meeting. The twelve of the zodiac had come in the presence of the King in an impromptu meeting the giant had called for. The mermaid spirit of Aquarius was the one who asked the question on everyone' mind and the silence that fell over them as a result of that worry being voiced was nearly deafening. Leo's hands were clenched tightly at his sides, but he wasn't going to be the one to speak up. No, he had no right to. It wasn't _his_ promise that held this much weight.

A low sigh escaped the armored giant and a hand reached up to thread his fingers through his mustache in thought. "Unfortunately, I have no idea. I know she needed a push from someone, and her friends and family are too kind to give her that push."

"But to go this far," Libra started, as this topic affected her almost as much as it did Lucy's own spirits, "will it really balance out in the end?"

Another sigh escaped the King. "We can only hope."

"My King," Loke started, trying _hard_ to restrain himself. "I understand that this has gone on long enough- believe me, I understand that fully. But to go about it like this..."

"Think about it, Leo," Capricorn answered, not waiting for their King to answer. "She wouldn't have done anything at all if he didn't give her the option. She had a choice and she could have declined it when he offered... But she didn't."

"It still feels like blackmail," the leader retorted. "If she isn't ready to talk about it then-"

"Then she never will be." Aquarius's statement caused an even worse silence to fall over the meeting and, unfortunately, it wasn't as kind as the first silence. Her words held gravity to them- gravity and truth. "I know her more than any of you do. I've known her since she was a little toddling shit in diapers. Lucy is _not_ the kind of person to worry other people with her own feelings.. And some of that is my fault. She needed something to push her over the edge, otherwise she would have continued to destroy herself."

"I agree, ebi," Cancer said, taking a small step forward. "Princess Lucy is the person who puts her own feelings- no matter how strong- aside in order to help others, ebi. She wouldn't ever speak on her own behalf without someone forcing her hand."

A hum of indifference came from the armored giant in the room. Though nobody had suspected it at first, they could all see the guilt eating at him from his actions.

It took another moment of silence for everyone to gather their thoughts and, this time, it was Taurus who spoke. "As much as we all looooove Princess Luuuuucy, the waters of the fountain don't lie. She needed something to help her get throoouuuugh this- especially with the Eclipse coming up."

"And you're just going to sit back?" Leo accused, his eyes narrowing.

Virgo took the defensive and stepped out from her spot. "None of us are going to sit back, Big Brother. We know you feel strongly for her- we all do. Pisces and Libra as well, for if she hadn't convinced Lady Yukino to keep their keys, they wouldn't truly be happy. We all hold deep respect, trust, and love for the Princess and we all know your feelings are stronger than ours- its in your nature as the lion to be the most fiercely loyal of us all, but..."

"But? But what," he spat, his control waning.

"But you need to step back and look at her feelings _first_ without thinking of your own for once."

Aries, Aquarius and Libra all gasped deeply, their eyes wide in shock. Virgo was a pleaser, never one to back talk anyone at all unless in jest. But this had no teasing tone to it at all. This was serious and she was calling him out on his shit and the only spirit that apparently had the guts to do so. It was common knowledge that Lucy loved all of her spirits equally, but the love and respect she held for Aquarius, Leo, Virgo and Cancer almost seemed like blatant favoritism- though they all knew that was not the case. It was simply because those spirits had been with her through more and helped her in more ways than just battle.

But it didn't stop the shock that _Lucy_ had affected _Virgo_ enough to _talk back_ to the _leader_ of the Zodiac.

"We agree," Gemi and Mini spoke in unison, their high pitched voices carrying a little sadness to them. "We know better than you guys how strongly her feelings were about the dragon- even back when they first officially met."

"She is strong- strong enough to handle us when the Eclipse Gate affected us _all_ so strongly," Gemi started.

"But there's only so much she can do when she won't share the weight of her feelings," Mini finished.

An audible growl left the lion and a shadow fell over his eyes. "I understand. I do. I just... Don't like it."

While it was true that an ultimatum like this was playing dirty in a sense, nobody blamed the king and it seemed like the only spirit adamantly against it was starting to see the reasoning behind it. Making Lucy promise that she could teach Yukino only if she finally came out and confessed what had her feeling so low? That was dirty. It was a bad, low move because _they all knew_ that the last thing she wanted to do was to disappoint her friend. However, in the same breath, they also knew that she wouldn't have started talking about it to anyone if something didn't change. If something didn't come out and almost literally force her hand to talk about herself and her own feelings for once, nothing was going to change. And with the Eclipse coming up, that was a dangerous burden to be carrying.

A sigh escaped the Golden Ram. "I love Princess Lucy, I really really do. She was fated since last year to be a permanent part of the Shadow Dragon's life... I'm sorry for speaking out of turn, but if this Eclipse is going to be anywhere near as dangerous as the last three have been, she's going to need him by her side for it... Especially if she and Lady Yukino are going to help us..."

"Yeah. Lucy's one of the strongest women I've ever met- and I swear if any of you take this outside of this meeting room I will drown you all without a moment's hesitation," Aquarius started, her eyes narrowing at every single face present. "But it hurts my damn heart to see her still so hung up over what she did. It's not like I'm dead."

"You know that isn't the whole truth, Aquarius," Capricorn said pointedly looking over to the mermaid spirit. "She's not just upset about your key, she's also upset about the lack of-"

"Yes, I know," the mermaid interrupted. "But there's still a part of that which is on my ass. And, really, if she would have pulled her big girl panties up and just talked about it in the first place, it wouldn't have been this bad."

A sigh escaped the crab spirit. "Yet we all know Princess Lucy both did not have time to, nor did she have the want to make her friends worry or feel guilty, ebi."

Yet another silence fell over the meeting area. The King sighed- again- and finally spoke up once more. "The fountain's waters tell me she will be fine, but that does not help my own guilt. More so, the stars have fallen empty for many eons too long. If she is able to get through the Eclipse and it's following repercussions... We have a light hope that none should ever shatter."

"I don't mean to cut you off, My King," Mother Pisces said, stepping in front of her son, "but would it not require all twelve to do this? Without our key, Libra's, and Aquarius's..."

The King shook his head. "The moment Lady Yukino mated with the Light Dragon, it has been that she should be a part of this event as well. However, she alone does not carry the strength to face this. Our Old Friend does not, either. Together, with the assistance of their dragons, we might have a chance."

Scorpio smiled widely. "We are! I know everyone's worried about this, but think of what Princess Lucy has done this far! This is going to be tough, but she'll have us at her side to guide her through it, too. I don't know about you guys, but I miss those four buffoons. We are!"

Sagittarius nodded and saluted. "I, for one, am in full support of this plan, My King. I agree fully with Sir Scorpio."

"You just like him because he _is_ a Sagittarius," Gemi and Mini mocked in unison before giggling.

"That is merely a bonus, my friends!"

Finally, thanks to the centaur, the heavy air had lifted a little. Leo even managed a small smile. "I still say if he hurts her, I get full reign to pummel his ass back into Earthland's core."

"Oh, trust me," Aquarius started, raising a brow with a smirk lifting one corner of her mouth, "you won't be alone there. I've had that in my mind since the idiot was a child."

"I'm not good at handing out Punishment, but," Virgo said, the aura around her going as dark as her eyes in that moment, "I would make an exception for that."

* * *

The shadow dragon ran his hands over his face when a distinct scent wafted towards his nose. The salty wet smell that carried the natural smell of Lucy. She was crying.

 _Just let her know you'll be there for her and, when she cries, make sure you listen. That's the best way._

Rogue stood and took a deep breath. He had to calm his nerves down. How on Earthland Lucy could just help others without letting herself get in the way, he didn't know, but he knew he couldn't do that without mental preparation. Though the smell of her tears had him walking towards the bathroom sooner than he was ready to confront the problem at hand. Would he even be of help? He had to be. She helped him more than she would ever know and he had to at least try to do the same for her.

He pushed down his fright with a gulp as he stood in front of his bathroom door. A small whimper and a sniffle came from inside- a sound that broke his heart to hear. He couldn't think about his own feelings. He couldn't be that selfish when she hasn't ever been that selfish with anyone else. A deep breath was taken before he knocked on the bathroom door three slow times. "Lucy? ...Are you okay in there?"

He heard the water shift, the curtain of the bath-shower fixture move, and heard her clear her throat before she finally responded. "Yeah.. I-I'm fine.."

His heart broke even further to hear how strong she was trying to be. "..Don't lie to me, Lucy. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't make you... But please... Don't lie to me..."

A choked sob escaped her before the dam completely busted. She was sobbing and he could hear every hiccup, every cry, every sniffle... Her hands covered her face as she cried- not that it muffled the sound any. "Please," she choked out, another sob busting from her body before she could stop it. "D-Don't... D-Don't leave me..."

"I'm not going anywhere," he said, pressing his back against the door. "Frosch is at the guild and I'm-," he slid down the door and sat with his back against it, "sitting right here. I'm not leaving, Lucy... I'll be here for as long as you'll have-... Want me here."

The blonde woman cried for at least another five solid minutes, every second only making his heart clench that much more. He wondered, briefly, how someone so strong and beautiful be so broken, but pushed that thought aside. He knew she was hurting. He has ever since their interview. It was like a sparkle was missing from her brown eyes that should have been there the whole time but.. Just... Wasn't there anymore.

"R-Rog.. Um.. R-Ryos..?"

His heart fluttered. _She still remembers_. "I'm still here, Lucy."

"Will... Will you come in..? Um.. But stay by the door? The curtain is closed I just.. Want you in here so I can see you're.. Um.. Not leaving..."

He bit his lower lip, wondering what the hell he should do. If he went in there and she slipped up even once, he would see something he wasn't ready to see. Did he want to see it? Hell _yes_ he did. Did she want him to? More than likely not. But she was hurting. And she needed the proof that he wasn't going anywhere. She needed at least that. She _deserved_ at least that. "Alright. I'll face the door, just to be safe, okay?" he offered as he stood up.

An almost non-committal sound came from her, as though she had heard and agreed with him but didn't want to fully agree. He took a deep breath to ready himself before opening the door and keeping his eyes trained on the floor as he did so. He heard the water move behind him but didn't _dare_ to look up. No, he shut the door behind himself, locked it, and sat down on the tile flooring while facing the black wooden door- just as promised.

"Thank you," she whispered and he nodded. The two were silent for a moment longer before she cleared her throat and sniffled. "D-Do you remember... Um... What you told me?"

"Which thing? I remember almost everything involving you, Lucy," he said honestly. He was _super fucking glad_ she couldn't see his damn near scarlet face, though.

"O-Oh," she stuttered out, looking over at the black curtains separating them. "The thing about the stars..?"

He paused, thinking over the night they had the interview. Yet, he hardly said anything at all about the stars- she did most of the talking... Unless... "I said I'd listen if you ever wanted to talk my ears off about the stars again," he said, the smile he sported on his face obvious in his words.

A soft laugh came from her as she nodded- not that he saw. "Can... Can I do that now? Talk about the stars.. That is..."

"Of course," he responded almost instantly. "I'll always be here to listen to whatever you want to tell me."

And this time, _she_ was glad he wasn't facing her way to see her bright red cheeks. "Um.. It won't bother you if I.. If I tell you what's going on instead..?"

He paused furrowing his brow. Why on Earthland would she ever think that? "No- No, it won't ever bother me. Lucy, if anything is ever bothering _you_ I _want_ you to be able to come and talk to me."

He heard the sigh leave her but what he didn't know was that it was one of relief. Like someone had finally lifted the weight of the universe off of her shoulders and all she had left was one little galaxy to deal with. Perhaps... Perhaps that weight will leave, too. She just had to follow Virgo's advice and just... _Trust him_. She had to keep her promise to the King. She had to, finally, think about herself for once.

"It's a little long winded-"

"We have nothing but time, _Princess_ ," he interrupted. "I'll shove my face through this wood if you need to get out and are still talking if that's what it takes."

That got a half hearted laugh from her and he smiled in response. At least he could still make her laugh a little.

"When I was little.. I'm sure you know this, but I was raised in the Heartfilia konzern. My mom was ill and passed on when I was really little but before that.. She taught me how to summon Aquarius and Cancer both. They were my two best friends... I was an only child and my father didn't let me have any visitors or anything. I was raised by the maids, taught by home tutors... I didn't know anyone outside of the konzern. Aquarius..."

He could hear both heartbreak and love in the way she said the spirit's name and it confused him. He didn't interrupt and, instead, waited patiently for her to continue as his eyes followed the wood's natural pattern in the door.

"She was my best friend. She was the bitchiest spirit ever- and probably still is- but I love her. I always have. She was my only friend, no matter how much she yelled and berated me when I was younger... I left the konzern and found Fairy Tail and father came after me. The Phantom Lord incident. I _know_ you know of that one. Everyone does. It was the last _real_ war between guilds. And it was started by my father, looking for me to force me to come home and marry another man for the businesses to merge. Some father he was."

And Rogue couldn't help the growl that came from him when she told him of her father's plans to marry her off. He found it embarrassing that he couldn't stop the sound but apparently she found it endearing or something- considering the giggle that left her mouth. His face was red once more, but it didn't seem to stop her- thankfully.

"Even if he was an asshole who ignored me, berated me and screamed at me and left me to myself more often than not... He was my father and I can't speak ill of the dead for too long. He... He spent the seven years we were locked on Tenrou looking for me. He sent me birthday gifts every year without fail because he had faith I would come home one day. That I was alive... But he passed on before we came back. He treated me like a possession, a doll, to be sold off to the highest bidder... At least before the Tenrou accident, he did. But it really did seem like he changed after that... And... I have nothing connecting me to my home- my parents- anymore..."

This time, Rogue's brows furrowed. She seemed to pause for a long moment, and he took this moment to speak. "Take your time. I'm still here and listening."

He heard her choked hiccup and smelled her tears again. "Thank you, so much," she said before breaking into another sobbing fit.

Rogue wanted nothing more than to rush over to her and hold her in his arms, soothe her sadness and let her know he was there and that everything would be alright. But... She was naked. In a bathtub. He was already in the same room as her- which was indecent enough. He didn't need to make himself out to be a pervert on top of that. It took her a good minute or two- or, rather, four minutes and twenty nine seconds exactly- to speak up again.

"Tartaros... Mard Geer just used that stupid spell to trap everyone in the walls of the cube... They had become the muscles and tissues of this beast... But somehow- someway- I was the only one left."

 _He did not like where this was going_.

"Three demons had come after me. Jackal- the one who blew up the council, Torafuzar- the one Gajeel ended up killing later, and a demon called Lamy. I was at a disadvantage, as we were pretty much surfing on the waters of this cube's stomach fluids... Now that I think back, that must have been nine thousand shades of _disgusting_ to know I pretty much _swam_ in it... And I'm suddenly thankful for being in a bathtub," she said, laughing at her own little joke as though she were trying to keep the mood light. They both knew it wasn't working, but he did appreciate and applaud her effort. Had it been him, he wouldn't have even tried.

"Everyone was trapped. I already had Loke and Virgo out... and then Jackal showed up. I don't know if Yukino told you, but summoning two is achievable... But three... I have my second origin opened and it put a massive strain on my magic," she offered, peeking out from the curtains to watch his back. Lucy would never admit it aloud but she was honestly terrified he'd leave her there. _Like everyone else did_.

And, as though he could read her mind, he hummed. "I'm still here," he whispered and a new wave of tears stung her eyes.

He was too good for this world.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself enough to continue. "I summoned Aquarius. Everyone was telling me not to... That it wouldn't be good... But I had to. Nobody else was around and I could only defend myself so much before anything else happened and they took me out, too. She saved my life for what felt like the hundredth time and.. And.. Told me how I could stop everything. Put an end to that stupid war... But I just... I wasn't strong enough..."

He gulped in anticipation and dread for what she was about to say.

"I sacrificed her key to summon the King."

Her tears were coming even harder and he felt his own tears well up. That night... That night over two years ago... She had spoken so highly of the spirit. So lovingly of her. She spoke nothing but the highest praise for the mermaid spirit that he remembered from the Grand Magic Games. And she...

He cleared his throat. "Do... Do you still have the key..?"

The blonde took another minute or two to compose herself. "Yeah.. It's broken, though. Completely shattered... No magic will go into it and none will come out..."

"Lucy..."

"Hold on.. Please?" she asked, watching his back as he nodded in response. She bit her lip, took another deep breath, and kept going. "I sacrificed her key- the last thing I had connecting me so closely to my mother... And the day after the war had ended? Heh. Natsu left. My best friend in the world left. He didn't tell me to my face, he just left me a note. And one week after it ended? Fairy Tail disbanded. I sacrificed her key to protect the friends that abandoned me... They didn't see my pain. They talked about how they were trapped in the walls and somehow- miraculously- got out... But they never questioned it. They..."

A whimper left her throat. "They still don't know. I summoned the King, who froze Mard Geer long enough to free everyone from the Cube because I was too weak to keep him here for any longer. If I had been stronger, they wouldn't have had to fight in the first place. I took out Jackal, I sacrificed my _closest friend_ and the only thing I held _that_ dear to me... To save them. To save the world. To stop what Tartaros would have done. And nobody thought twice about me. They never asked if I knew anything about it- only asked each other. They left before I was ready to speak up after the war and when they came back, I... I couldn't speak up then. They were all so happy and care free... I couldn't take that from them.. And.. They never questioned it when I didn't summon Aquarius until... Until that mission..."

"The Monster Hunt?" he asked softly.

"Mmm."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Did.. Is that what pushed you to this..?"

Lucy took a deep breath and nodded- but then remembered that he couldn't see her nod. "Yeah... It is."

He bit his lip and nodded again, knowing she could see him. "Why haven't you told anyone now..?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "As long as they were okay, they didn't care what price had to be paid. I know it's partially my fault for keeping it bottled up and not telling anyone- like I said- but... Erza could tell when I stubbed my toe and was upset about that. Levy could tell when I got upset about the ending of a novel. Mira could tell by what I ordered that day if I was upset or not. And here we are, over two years later, and they still haven't even noticed."

"Levy-"

"She's the one who set this whole thing up, I know. Gajeel told me the day I arrived," she whispered. "I know I should have told her... But... I knew I'd blow up and scream in her face if I tried because of how it took her this long to notice. Like I said, it took a month or so for me to be comfortable enough to talk to my Spirits after it happened, so by the time I thought I was ready to talk, everyone was gone. Left me behind without second thought... So I just held it after they came back. I didn't want to rob them of the happiness I fought and sacrificed so much to help them keep."

Rogue nodded again. "You're a saint, you know," he said with awe in his voice- which got a very small laugh from her. The silence that fell after that was near deafening this time- though not in a bad way. It was comfortable in a sense, just a little awkward considering that he could _hear her_ washing up. She cleared her throat and he could hear her stand up.

"Sorry for bothering-"

"Don't finish that sentence," he said hurriedly, standing and backing up a little to grab a towel from his cabinet before holding his arm out behind him. Yes, he was still trying to keep his eyes away from her naked form. "You didn't bother me at all. I'm just... Honestly a little upset you didn't come to me sooner."

She sighed. "I'm sorry..."

"There's no reason to be," he responded. "You did what you had to and saved.. Well.. _Everyone's_ lives, Lucy. Screw _Captain Ishgar_ , you're a _literal_ hero here." He heard her pull the stopper from the bath and felt the towel leave his hand. Before she could respond he cleared his throat again. "Do you need another?"

"Yes please," she requested kindly. "One for my hair..?"

He nodded, a soft smile left unseen by her on his face as he reached and grabbed another towel for her. He jolted his arm back and felt it hit her. "Shit-"

"Gee, _thanks for punching me in the tit,_ jerk," she teased and watched as he blushed so hard even his neck and ears were red. She laughed lightly and pulled the towel from his hand as well. "Kidding, kidding. That was my shoulder."

"S-Still... Sorry," he offered, covering his red-as-fuck face with his free hand.

She smiled softly at his back, her eyes reflecting the smile on her lips. "You still have to pick Frosch up and it's getting late... Why don't you do that?"

He went stiff for a moment. "I told you I wasn't going anywhere and I meant it. I'll have Rufus-"

"No, Ryos, you go pick that little baby up right now." She stomped her foot down to emphasize the last word and when he took a breath to reply, she cut him off. "You go pick Frosch up and hang out there for about an hour or so.. I'll call Levy and get dinner started."

She could see his resistance waning.

"We're having a slayers' night tomorrow night... If you want, I could have them bring their mates.. and you can talk to them then?" he offered.

This made her smile and, without properly thinking, she rushed forward clad in only two towels and hugged him from behind. "That.. That would be amazing."

"L-Lucy... Please," he said, placing his arms on hers in an awkward 'hug' (if you could even call it that) back without turning to face her. "You're still, uh..."

"Oh you're such a prude," she said with a huff before nuzzling her cheek against his back and pulling away from him. "But really, thank you, Ryos... You really took a shit ton of weight off of my shoulders."

He huffed and she saw his shoulders go from stiff to slumping. "You're welcome. Now, I'll go get Frosch, talk to Rufus about what's going on with Lector and see if he needs someone to walk him home, and you-"

"And I'll get started on dinner after a while so you can come home and relax," she stated firmly. "Sound good?"

He paused but soon opened the bathroom door. "Sounds great, actually."

Before he could shut the door behind him, she spoke up again. "U-Um-..."

"Yes?" he asked.

There was a loud thumping in her chest that she was positive he could hear. And that only embarrassed her further. Shoving what she _initially_ wanted to say down, she cleared her throat a little. She held up one end of the promise she had made but it still felt like that promise wasn't fully fulfilled. "Can... Can you send Mini and Yuki over here..? And, maybe... Tell the guys..?"

"...My team? Or everyone?"

"Um," she paused, the silence settling over them almost as overbearing as his scrambled thoughts and emotions. "Both? Maybe... Maybe your team tonight and my guild mates you see tomorrow?"

He didn't move. What she was requesting of him was heavily laden with trust he didn't think he deserved. "Don't you think... You should be the one to tell them..?"

She didn't make a move or a sound for what felt like minutes. If he didn't have the advanced hearing that he did, he would be worried that she wasn't even breathing. But she was. She was just... Way too silent for comfort. Until she took a deep breath. "If I tried to... I would... Cry. And probably get yelled at for keeping it in for so long... And I know I am at fault- at least a little bit... I just... I don't think I can handle them yelling at me about it..."

He stiffened and she couldn't see the small smile on his face. He was glad she was finally opening up, but he did- in fact- feel a little jealous that he wasn't the only one who could soothe her worries. That feeling was shoved aside, though, as he knew acting jealous of something so stupidly petty would only make things worse. "Of course. You just get dressed and start relaxing a little."

"Okay.. Thank you so much," she whispered.

He shut the door and she heard him lean against it. A lopsided smile lifted one corner of her mouth and her eyes never left the door she knew he was leaning against.

"There's, uh," he said, his voice muffled by the door. "...There's green tea in the kitchen. Far right cabinet, top shelf."

Her brows furrowed. "I thought you hated sweets like that?"

"But I know you like them," he hurriedly said. "So I went back to that restaurant a while back and they told me what brew they used and-"

"You, Ryos, are the cutest and sweetest man I have ever met," she interrupted, knowing he was about to start rambling out of embarrassment. And, even through the thick wood of the door, she still heard the small whimper come from his throat. "Thank you, again, and go already. I'll still be here when you get back- and I'll have dinner ready, too."


	12. The Release

_**Author's Note** : Heyo!_

 _This chapter is being posted a little later in the day because I almost didn't wake up to post it- not gonna lie. I've been worshipping the porcelain gods with a biznasty stomach bug so I might miss tomorrow's update. To be honest, the only reason I remembered today's was because I couldn't fall back asleep. qwq''_

 _All of that aside, things are finally getting more and more light-hearted with Rogue and Lucy because she's finally talked about all the crap that she'd going through. The sad thing is that all of those things are canon- I didn't make a damn one of them up for the sake of this story at all. I explain a little more about how I personally believe the mating process to work and then there's more fluffy RoLu goodness in the end. c; hope you guys like it. I'm very happy everyone laughed so much at Minerva's pussy up statement- those comments made my day so much brighter._

 _I'm going to go back to focusing on getting in better health and I'll see you guys next time I update! (hopefully tomorrow if I'm feeling well enough, if not then Friday.)_

* * *

 _ **The Release**_

With thoughts more scrambled than the eggs Lucy made for breakfast for him and his crew, Rogue walked probably a little too slowly to the guild hall. His mind was working way too quickly, way too messily, for him to properly settle on one thought for too long. He was worried as hell because this wasn't his story to tell. This wasn't a subject to be taken lightly, either. And it was something _entrusted_ to him to pass along. Trust that he felt like he didn't deserve. But, at the same time, he felt happy about it. The minor (or, rather, major) jealousy he felt at not being able to soothe the woman on his own when she had nearly single-handedly soothed most of his doubts alone... That was gone. It wasn't _completely_ gone, as it was still nagging at the back of his mind, but it was replaced almost completely by happiness.

She trusted him.

 _He_ was the one she opened up to like this. She could have gone to Yukino, Minerva, Rufus... Hell, she could have gone to Natsu- the thought of which only made him madder than he was already. But, instead of them, she came to _him_. Lucy, one of the most beloved people of all time... The woman who almost completely cleansed his hands of her blood (though that would never truly leave, that much he knew), the woman who brought back Fairy Tail when everyone was certain there was no hope for the disbanded guild, the woman who has been tortured more times in her life than he dared to think about and still came out with her chin high...

The beacon of light that _was_ Lucy Heartfilia.

She opened up to _him_ before she did her team. Before her best friend, Levy. And that made his inner dragon purr and beam in happiness. It was the only thing- the only thought- that helped put a pep back in his steps so he didn't seem too out of it. Or, at least, he hoped it did. When he entered the guild again, it didn't seem like people were looking at him strangely. That tended to happen when he had upsetting thoughts on his mind, and it didn't happen this time.

Thankfully.

He didn't think he would be able to handle the news he had to be the bearer of _on top_ of ignorant people giving him _the look_.

At the bar, Rufus was seen mixing drinks like the pro he was while Minerva and Orga seemed to be in the middle of a heated debate. If it were an argument, neither of the two would have those grins on their faces. And, really, it wasn't until Dobengal looked his way that his presence was even noticed by any of the three members of his team.

"Rogue," the ninja greeted with a nod.

He nodded in return, noticing that his name alone was enough to get everyone's attention to face him. Well, 'everyone' being the three people who actually mattered at the moment.

"Dobengal, I understand you've taken position at the bar more times than you should have been this week, but I will personally give you twenty thousand jewel if you man it for another hour or three."

Everyone in the guild was silent now, looking at the shadow mage curiously.

"Rogue? What's goin' on, man?" Orga asked, his tone careful.

The shadow mage shook his head and bit his lower lip gently.

 _I just... I don't think I can handle them yelling at me about it..._

He inhaled shakily and crossed his arms in an attempt to seem more composed than he actually was- but the four at the bar saw right through that. He knew they did. But, he had to take pointers from the blonde woman currently alone in his house probably crying. And that thought hurt his heart _a shit ton more_ than he ever wanted to admit aloud. She was stronger than anyone else he knew, emotionally, and even though his own emotions were an absolute mess he could never get a proper handle on... He had do to the same thing she always managed to do. Ignore his own shit to help others.

"Minerva, I need you to go get Yukino and take her to my house. Tell Sting he needs to meet the rest of us in the office."

"A team meeting?" Rufus inquired, his brows furrowing so much that you could actually see the emotion of worry on his face past the mask he wore. "What's going on, Rogue?"

The shadow mage set his eyes hard. "It's about Lucy. Something very important. She wants to talk to Minerva and Yukino herself- probably to tell them about what's going on. And she requested that I tell everyone in our team and the rest of the Slayers about it."

Orga was instantly out of his seat. "Shit, is it that serious?"

Rogue, his eyes already cold, felt his jaw clench and he grounded his teeth together a little. "It's... It's a lot worse than just one small thing affecting her to _retreat_ like this. I'll elaborate when we're behind closed doors."

"Don't worry about the jewel, Rogue," the ninja said, nodding to him. "I'm sure my feelings are aligned with everyone's when I say she's a member of Sabertooth- official or not. If it's for her safety and comfort, I don't mind working a little more than usual."

Only then did the red eyed man realize everyone had been listening up until that point when the entire guild seemed to agree in unison. Surprisingly, that sated a little of his worry and a smile- rare to see without the blonde woman around- lifted the corners of his mouth. "I don't think you guys realize how happy she would be to hear that."

Minerva stood from her seat, placing a gentle hand on the ogre's shoulder to relax him at least a little bit. "So she wants to talk to Yuki and I herself..?"

"Yes."

"Is there anyone else that needs to be added to our group?" Rufus asked, stepping out from behind the bar.

It was then that Rogue had to make a decision. Lucy wanted him to tell her team when they were here tomorrow, but he didn't know if a Lacrima Comm call would suffice. In fact, he planned on skipping that altogether to just tell them in person... But there _was_ one other person he felt needed to know. "Go ahead of us to the office and get Master Makarov on the line. Make sure his office is soundproof. I don't need the Slayers finding out about this before tomorrow night."

"Understood. I'll use the guild's comm. It should be better to get a hold of him that way" Rufus said with a nod before heading to the office.

Rogue sighed and shook his head. This wasn't his story to tell, but here he was. While it bothered him a little that he had to be the bearer of bad news, all it took was one thought to calm him down. That she _trusted him enough_ to ask him to help her. Fully mated yet or not, she was still the single most important person in his life. And he was more than happy to help her like this. Worried? Yes, he was very worried. Scared? Yeah, that too. Was he ready to do this? Probably not. But he would do it. For her, he would do anything.

While wrapped up in his thoughts, Minerva had tiptoed (and pulled the largest Saber down) to place a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back later, okay?" she whispered, a soft but worried smile on her features.

"You stay safe," Orga said, pulling her into a hug and placing another kiss to the top of her head.

She scoffed playfully. "Please. You might be the strongest member of our guild, but I'm a damn close second and you know it. I can handle myself," she responded.

He chuckled at her words, his laugh rumbling in his chest in a way that seemed to calm the territory mage down. "I know, I know. I can't help but worry, though. Y'know what ya mean to me."

"I know," she whispered, even softer than her first whisper. "I love you."

"And I love you," he said, placing a final kiss to the top of her head. "Now go. You've got a Fairy needing you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," she said, waving him off as she pulled away and walked out of the guild.

The worry that seemingly saturated her heart and overwhelmed her feelings never once showed itself on her face. She's had years and years of experience- the experience she needed to perfect the poker face she sported now. If anyone from Fairy Tail asked, she would adamantly deny how close of a friend she considered the blonde woman to be and brush it off as mere acquaintanceship. It would be a completely bullshit statement- not that they would ever know. Minerva had come to think of Lucy as an adopted sister of sorts and it was that feeling that only made the worry gripping at her person even worse.

Of all of their team, Yukino lived the closest to the guild and it didn't take long to get to her house. Thankfully.

The black haired woman didn't know if she could handle being alone for another second. Not with the thoughts that threatened to make worry visible.

So the moment that she came up on the quaint little white house, she wasted no time in _pounding_ her fist against the blue door. "Yukino, Sting! Get your asses covered, I'm coming in!"

Hey, at least she gave them a little warning this time.

She didn't need a dragon slayer's acute hearing to hear the rather loud and grumpy grumbling coming from somewhere further back in the house. No, the moment she opened the door, she knew Sting was going to be angry. He was spending time alone with his mate and, really, Minerva was the only woman with enough courage (or was it sheer stupidity) to briefly come between a dragon slayer and his mate. She had heard from Rufus about the training Lucy and Yukino were doing and she had heard about how horribly Sting retaliated to it. The moron. Yukino would never get stronger like she had wanted to if he kept coddling her like that.

It took about two minutes of Minerva standing there in the doorway for the two to come out- dressed just enough to cover themselves. Yukino was obviously clad only in a shirt of Sting's that he probably left here long before this particular night and Sting only had on a pair of pajama pants. The black haired woman hoped- in vain- that the two at least had underwear on... But with how quickly they came out as compared to times previous, she knew they didn't.

"Mini, what are you-"

"We were in the middle of something, Minerva," Sting interrupted the soft spoken woman harshly. "What do you need?"

She raised a brow at him, her eyes not showing even a hint of amusement to them. "Get your slayer calmed down, Yukino, I'm not here to fight him but I swear I will."

He growled at the tan woman aggressively before Yukino put her hand on his shoulder. The light haired woman rubbed at the upper portion of his back and the slayer calmed down a little- but not completely. "What's going on?"

"It's Lucy."

At those two words, the mated couple froze and the man's anger almost completely left him at that point. They made no move to speak, so the territory mage continued.

"Sting, I told you last time I barged in here that I wasn't going to interrupt your sex time-"

"We just got finished, actually," Yukino interrupted with a soft smile on her face- causing a crimson blush to coat the slayer's cheeks.

Minerva snorted in response and she rolled her eyes. "Never took you for the post-sex-cuddle type, Sting. But anyway. I told you I wouldn't interrupt your shit unless it was important. And, from what Rogue said, it's more than a little important."

"What did he say?" the blond asked.

She shrugged lightly. "I assume she finally opened up to him about what's been bothering her because he called a team meeting in your office- one that Makarov is apparently going to be listening to, as well. He said that Lucy wanted to talk to Yuki and I personally, but wouldn't say much more until everyone was behind closed doors."

Yukino nodded and Sting left her to walk further back into the house. "We'll get dressed. Do you mind waiting for us outside?"

"I don't mind, but I'd suggest hurrying up. The way Rogue was talking has everyone in the guild hall thinking she's about to die in twenty minutes."

"That is so not funny right now, Minerva!" Sting hollered from whatever room he was currently occupying.

She simply snorted and shrugged- not that he could see. "It's true. That's how worried everyone is."

Yukino nodded and went back further into the house with Sting while Minerva, as promised, waited outside for the couple to finish getting dressed and ready.

When the two came outside, Sting had given Yukino a goodbye kiss- that Minerva gagged as loudly as possible in response to (that he flipped her off for)- and they parted ways. Yukino and Minerva headed west towards Rogue's house while Sting headed east towards the guild. Though the two women were free to talk about whatever they wanted at that point, neither of them said a single word. Their hearts were too heavy and their minds too frantic to focus on talking- though they probably should have. It took only four minutes to reach Rogue's house, but it felt like they had only been walking for sixty seconds. Time flies when you're preoccupied.

And the moment they opened the door, they were met with a sobbing Lucy. She was curled up on the white couch, clutching her knees to her chest and holding something in her hands so tightly neither woman could see what it was. Her hair was slightly damp and she was wearing a strange white shirt that said _Leos do it **best** _ and was wearing her lion slippers- but they were unsure if she was wearing anything other than those two things. Her hiccuping and pained cries were the only thing that made the two tigresses close and lock the door and literally run over to her side.

Lucy was pulled gently to rest on Yukino's shoulder and Minerva was rubbing the blonde's back gently.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm so.. So sorry..." she cried out, curling in on herself even more.

"Sweetie," Yukino cooed, "there's nothing to apologize for. You're hurting and you're allowed to hurt."

"Come on, Lulu," Minerva said softly. "Just let it all out and we can talk after you're done, okay?"

The blonde's cries got louder at that point, her shaking got worse and her tears fell harder. No matter how upsetting it looked to be, the two women were happy that, finally, she was letting out everything she had held to herself to that point.

* * *

The inside of the master's office was like a commercial for eye drops gone wrong.

The elder man on the lacrima screen looked to be in such pain that anyone who didn't know what was just spoken would think he just watched Natsu, Erza and Gray get their asses handed to them and were on their death beds. Orga held his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees, and with this way his hands were positioned it was rather obvious he was attempting to shield the others from seeing the tears slipping off his cheeks and nose to fall to the floor. Rufus had his back to the group, but the gentle shaking of his shoulders spoke levels to what they couldn't see. Sting had punched a hole in one of his bookshelves and was pacing the floor in a vain attempt to hold back his own water works. The two exceed were holding each other, not making much sound on Orga's lap.

Rogue was the most composed- but that didn't mean that tears weren't lining his own red eyes.

" _My child dealt with all of this on her own and held her head high the entire time,_ " Makarov said glumly. There was a pause as he composed himself at least a little- though the sniffle from the elderly man let everyone know what it was that he was really trying to compose. " _I caused her so much heartache..._ "

"It was not you alone, Master Makarov," Rogue said softly, trying to look anywhere _but_ at the crying grandfather. There was something particularly heartbreaking about seeing someone like him cry. "You had your reasons for doing what you did, just as Natsu had his reasons for leaving the way he did and Gray and Erza had their reasons for not contacting anyone at all for so long."

Sting, in a fit of anger, punched his desk hard enough to splinter the wood. His other hand came up to cover his eyes. "Natsu should have at least told her to her damned face..."

"What's done is done," Rogue said, taking an unsteady breath. "I agree, but like I said. He had his reasons."

"And nobody... Nobody bothered to see past their own _reasons_ and their own _feelings_ to open their eyes?" Rufus accused pointedly.

It fell silent again. Orga sat back against the chair, looking up at the ceiling as though it would give him the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

"Blondie's held so much in it's insane," he said, his usually loud voice shaking. "I mean, other people go through a bunch'a bullshit too... But most people break after a while and tell at least _someone_..."

"Well, she told her spirits," the shadow mage reasoned.

The teal haired man shook his head. "Not what I mean and you know it."

" _My child lost her mother at such a young, impressionable age.. Was looked at by her father as an item and a means to an end.. Carried the full weight of the Phantom Lord attack on her shoulders.. Carried the weight of the Infinity Clock... She's been tortured emotionally by her dear Aquarius and her father, physically by Gajeel, Flare and Minerva... She carried the weight of the Eclipse Gate and the Zodiac Rebellion on her shoulders... And lost her dearest friend. Her last line to her mother. And then we turned her backs on her._ " Makarov recounted, his hands coming up to cover his face. " _And I didn't help her like I should have.._ "

"Gramps, you didn't know," Orga said softly. "None of us knew."

While Sting looked to the teal haired man like he had grown a second head (at the 'disrespectful' name he called the elder man), Makarov let out a wet laugh. The Holy Dragon Slayer was obviously unaware of the rather strange friendship that had bloomed between Orga and Laxus- resulting in Orga being comfortable enough around the short man to call him whatever he pleased. In response, the old man didn't even mind what he was called. The Fairy Tail wizards all called him the same thing, so to him, it only further proved that the two strongest guilds in Fiore were allied a lot closer than just with paper.

" _I still should have been there,_ " he whispered solemnly.

Rogue shook his head. "I was there. I know it means nothing, but from the moment she entered my life officially, I've done all I could to keep that sadness from her. I've known her for almost two full years and she's just now telling me, sir. There's nothing you could have done to get her to talk sooner than she did."

" _And I can't thank you enough for being there for her when we were all too blind to see it._ "

Rufus used his handkerchief to wipe the tears from his eyes before turning around to finally face everyone once more. "Is there anything we can do now? Precious time has already been lost to us and-"

"There's not much we _can_ do, Rufus," the red eyed man said solemnly. "She's hurting and comforting can only do so much. She doesn't want- or need- pity for her loss and all we can do is treat her like normal and help get her back into the swing of things. She seemed like she was feeling leagues better than she has been already."

The long haired blond man nodded and crossed his arms.

"Master Makarov, would you ask the dragon slayers to bring their mates- and Wendy- along tomorrow? I think Lucy would like to see them," Rogue asked.

The man cleared his throat and nodded. " _They're all still here in the guild. I can tell them.. But.. Are you going to be safe, son? You too, Sting._ "

"We'll be fine," Sting replied, his throat hoarse. "Yukino's here to keep me grounded and Rufus has been looking into books on Rune Magic."

" _Ask Lucy to help you, son. She's been learning from Freed and Levy to be more flexible no matter the situation._ "

Rufus attempted his usual smirk- though it didn't work as well as he wanted it to. "We'll just assign Lucy to assist Rogue, then."

Rogue groaned. "Rufus-"

"No that's actually a good idea, though," Sting interrupted the black haired man, his blue eyes wide. "Lucy's got your back, Yuki's got mine, and Rufus can write the runes around Yuki's house for me!"

The short man blinked and furrowed his brows. " _Son... Are you saying what I think you are..._ "

Rogue groaned loudly and slapped his forehead loud enough for it to echo in the room. Orga looked like a lost and confused pup while Rufus actually managed to fix his smirk.

"We are, sir. Our dark dragon has been trying to deny it, but it's true," the memory mage said, obviously taking pleasure in Rogue's crimson red face.

Sting snorted. "I mean, his reasons for denying it are valid and damn good, though. He doesn't want to put her through anything else."

Makarov- to Rogue's surprise and chagrin- chuckled loudly at this. " _Son, I have three dragon slayers of my own- one of which is my blood grandson. While I agree with your reasons, I can tell you that you need to tell her soon. Being a slayer, I know you'll protect her with your life and you've already done so much for her when I was too blind to see what she needed. You're more than okay in my book._ "

Orga groaned and stretched- popping his back in the process- before speaking up. "Okay okay, I get it I'm a half-wit here that can't keep up with y'er weird ass lingo.. But seriously, someone, fill me in already!"

"Lucy is Rogue's mate," Rufus and Sting said simultaneously.

"Ohhh.. Oh. _Oh shit man_ , are you serious?!" the ogre yelled, jumping out of his seat, throwing the exceeds down on the ground without meaning to.

"Orga-san! Watch out next time!" Lector scolded, helping the still-sniffling Frosch up.

If the shadow dragon's face could get any redder, it would have. "..Yeah."

Makarov laughed again. " _There's nothing to be embarrassed about, my boy._ "

"There is when you have no choice in who it is and your mate could very well not want to be with you," Rogue growled out- though the growl sounded more like a plea to shut the topic off before it got out of hand.

Sting paused but nodded in agreement. "Man, I get that feeling. Trust me."

The old man furrowed his brows. " _Boys, do you not understand how your mates are chosen?_ "

The dragon slayers- and Rufus- shook their heads.

Makarov shook his head and sighed. " _It's not some luck-of-the-draw or random thing. Your inner dragon recognizes people you have strong feelings for- strong respect, strong friendship, strong love, strong hatred even... And it narrows those people down to the people you feel the most comfortable around. When you first meet your mate- as well as others you will develop strong bonds with- you will feel very comfortable around them for no apparent reason. And, out of those people, your inner dragon will analyze them to find the strongest one. The one who balances your qualities out best. But, more than that, your mate will have touched you- your magic._

" _They will have reached out and went right past who you show yourself to be and went straight for who you really are. The moment they prove that they can see through that and see who you really are is the moment your inner dragon decides. The moment their magic reaches out to you is the moment they reciprocate the feelings. And, once your inner dragon has accepted them and their magic touch, it will be finalized._ "

The room went silent, listening to the information given and thinking it over. Orga was the first to speak up after a pregnant pause.

"So does that mean Rogue and Lucy have been talkin and meetin in secret?"

Sting barked a laugh. "They sure as hell have been! Sending letters to each other and talking on the comm like some stupid romance movie-"

"Sting, shut up before I shove my boot up your ass," Rogue threatened.

" _Don't worry, son. I already know. Mirajane and I stumbled upon the letters you sent her._ "

"She.." he paused, his eyes going wide. "She kept them?"

"HA! You're heart going all _ba-dum ba-dum_ , loverboy?" Orga teased.

"Rogue?" Frosch asked with a shaking voice, gaining everyone's attention. "Does this mean Fairy-san is Frosch's Mama like Yukino is Lector's?"

The black haired man groaned even louder. "I swear, I'm going to murder you," he growled low enough so that only Sting heard him before turning his attention to his exceed partner. "You'll have to ask her that, Frosch."

" _Rogue, listen to me,_ " Makarov said sternly all of a sudden. " _This happened with Laxus. After he realized Mirajane was his mate- that I'm still beyond happy about- he tried to ignore it for a little over two weeks. In those two weeks, his magic pool began weakening and he couldn't hold down much food at all. The more you fight it, the worse off you'll be._ "

* * *

Back at Rogue's house, the women were in worse shape than the men at the guild were. Virgo sat on the edge of the coffee table in the living room, petting the blonde's hair softly and wiping her tears every so often. However, Lucy was sandwiched between the two Sabertooth women. Yukino had her back against the arm of the couch and Lucy had her back pressed against her, sitting between her legs that the light haired woman had wrapped around Lucy's waist. Lucy's head lay rested on her shoulder, giving Virgo access to pat and play with her hair whenever the spirit felt that she needed to. Minerva was laying on her side between Lucy's legs, her head on Lucy's shoulder and her legs trapping Lucy's right leg between them.

Tears had been shed like crazy over the hour and a half that they sat there. With the stories and feelings that the blonde woman was talking about, it was almost like she cut open her chest and slammed her heart down on the table for everyone to see. Virgo had showed up about thirty minutes into the story to make green tea for the women- adding in the honey that Lucy liked to her drink. Minerva and Lucy both bonded over their similar stories; Lucy's father saw her, for the longest time, as a porcelain doll that was to be groomed and raised as he wanted her to and sell her off to the highest bidder to expand their family's railways. Minerva's father saw her nearly the same- as a figure he could groom and raise and mold to what he wanted as a heartless and cruel weapon of war to further their guild and their strength. Though the end result and aim of their fathers were vastly different, the results and affect on the women were one in the same.

Minerva had apologized at least another four times to Lucy for the Games and for how she was during the war with Tartaros. Yukino had shared her background as well, garnering more tears, but later apologized to Lucy as well. Not for anything bad, though, and Lucy almost didn't accept the apology. She had apologized for forcing the King to make Lucy make the promise that she did and for not realizing the sacrifice it took for the blonde to have access to the Star Dresses. Lucy didn't like the apology because it hadn't been Yukino's fault in the least bit, but she accepted it begrudgingly.

Now, as the women sat there in a cuddle pile, sniffling and calming down from how hard they had been crying, the silence seemed all too welcoming. The three were tired, exhausted from the emotions and crying that they had done, but Lucy was finally feeling better. Genuinely feeling better. Not just distracted, but actually better. She had finally gotten everything- and she meant _everything_ \- off of her chest. From her childhood, the guilt she felt from the guild, and the wars she's seemingly the cause of to Aquarius and how bitter she had been about everyone _leaving her alone_ like they did. Everything was finally off of her chest. It left her feeling heavy but simultaneously light. Like she could almost _feel_ her heart and soul finally beginning to repair on their own.

And, even though the silence was very welcomed, it was Minerva who broke the silence and brought a change of topic- something that was also welcomed. "So where the hell did you get this shirt? Did Leo get you this?"

The blonde laughed, leaning her head against Virgo's hand a little more as the spirit played with her hair. "No, actually, this is Rogue's t-shirt."

Yukino grunted out a confused noise. "Wait, he's not a Leo, though."

"Nope," she said, putting more emphasis on the word by popping the 'p' sound. "I am, though. He got me a shirt a while back for my birthday that said _Sagittarians do it better_ so I decided that I'd get him one that said _Leos do it **best**_."

The two tigers laughed heartily and the pink haired spirit even managed a light giggle at it. "Big Brother says you should take the shirt because it fits you better."

"Oh I bet he does," Lucy said, rolling her brown eyes. "He needs to put his nose in his own business sometimes."

"Sagittarius likes the shirt _you_ have, though," the spirit remarked.

Lucy giggled and nodded. "I know he does. He gets so happy every time I wear it, I can feel it in his key."

"Lucy," Minerva started, nuzzling against the woman's shoulder lightly as she spoke, "how do you really feel about our shadow dragon?"

The blonde sighed heavily. There had been no secrets to this point and Lucy had honestly shared so much with the two women that she didn't think this little bit would matter that much. "I like him. Like... A _lot_."

"Oh really?" Yuki teased, looking down at the blonde. "Tell us more~"

The Fairy bit her lower lip and nodded. "Well... When he's away I feel like I'm missing a part of me. It's not that bad right now because I have you two and I'm in his house but... That feeling is still there. And he makes me so happy when he's around just.. Being himself. Like his existence is enough to make me the happiest girl in the world. And his smile is so sweet and it makes my stomach do fucking _acrobatics_... But let me tell you this," she paused to readjust how she was laying as her leg was beginning to fall asleep. "When he has that just-woke-up hair and voice... And his jaw is just there waiting to have hickies painted on it... It makes it hard to stop myself in the mornings."

"Oh, honey, that's not liking someone," Mini said, looking up at the woman with an eat-shit grin on her face. "You _sooooo_ love him."

"Yeah... I do," she admitted, a light blush on her cheeks.

Yukino squealed behind her and even though the sound did hurt the Fairy's ears, she could tell the other had tried to keep it quiet. "You _finally_ admit it! Aaaa!"

A pair of brown eyes rolled dramatically and watched the maid spirit take their cups back into the kitchen- probably to refill them. "So what? I have no idea if he feels the same way-"

"You're _shitting_ me, right?" Minerva asked, untangling herself from their cuddle pile to sit up and give Lucy the most incredulous look. "I've been hearing about the shit you guys did- and have been doing- from Yukino and Rufus and _Sting_. Girl, open your eyes!"

"Besides," Yukino continued, scooting back a little to get a better look at the blonde. "From how you were talking? Sounds a lot like me. And Levy."

Lucy furrowed her brows and she sat up as well. "And? Why does that-"

"And Lisanna. And Mirajane. And Kinana."

Again, the Fairy was confused for a hot minute until it _finally_ clicked in her head. They were all the mates of the dragon slayers she knew. While, at first a sort of fear washed over her, it was gone almost as soon as it came. It was like something deep inside of her knew that this was right- that it was true. And a part of her had known all along and was screaming at her for just now realizing this.

"Rogue and I both have way too much to deal with already-"

"Lucy," Yukino interrupted, holding the blonde's hand gently, "trust me on this. I was going through a massive wave of depression when Sting and I mated. It helped my mental state and helped him get over a little bit of his paranoia, too. You said it yourself, mating with a dragon can help heal you- not just physically but mentally too."

The blonde still seemed very hesitant but then she looked back to the light haired woman in a concerned manner. "Are you feeling any better from earlier?"

Yukino sighed but nodded with a smile. "I'm tired and a little sore, but I'm much better now."

"I'm sorry-"

"Princess, I've gotten everything laid out for dinner," Virgo said, walking back into the living room.

Lucy looked over at Yukino after her gaze was on the spirit that interrupted her apology. If what she said was true... "Will... Will you and Sting come by a little earlier tomorrow..?"

The woman furrowed her brows. "Of course.. But why?"

"I.. I'll do it. I'll tell him tomorrow morning but I can't do it alone... I need to have some sort of out if something goes wrong-"

"Girl, nothing will go wrong. Orga and I will come over for breakfast, too, if you want," Mini said.

Yukino shook her head. "Something could, Minerva. Sting said that Mira had confessed to Laxus three times before he finally accepted it. I don't think Rogue would turn her down, but who knows.."

Minerva paused and furrowed her brows as she stood up and stretched. "If he does shoot you down, I'll kick his ass for you."

Lucy laughed softly. "I don't think that will be needed... But thank you. Will you tell Rufus to come over for breakfast, too?"

"Sure thing, girl. Come on, lets go start on dinner for you guys," the black haired woman said, helping both celestial mages up off of the couch.

About twenty minutes into preparing dinner, Virgo had sent them along on their way to the guild to also tell Rogue that dinner was almost fully ready for him and Frosch. When both Saber mages were gone, the maiden turned and hugged Lucy tightly.

"You're feeling better, Princess. I'm glad," she said softly.

Lucy returned the hug without hesitation and exhaled deeply. "Yeah. I'm tired as hell but... I honestly feel so much better than I have in a long time."

The maiden nodded and removed herself from the embrace. "I'll wake you tomorrow to get up and prepare breakfast. I have a feeling you'll sleep in if I don't."

The blonde laughed and nodded and a silence fell over them as the two continued to work on dinner- which was a salad, steak, baked potatoes, and steamed vegetables. Furthermore, they had made a couple of grilled fish for the little exceed.

"Lady Yukino is right, you know," Virgo said idly. "Your magic accepted him a year ago. You both just took a little longer than we all thought to realize you were bound to end up mated."

Lucy smiled warmly and nodded. "...How is Loke taking it..?"

The pink haired spirit laughed softly. "Not very well, but he's coping. He's a lion- fierce, loyal and overprotective. He's just worried Rogue will end up hurting you."

The blonde nodded as she made the plates up. "Tell him that he's still my lion and my protector no matter what anyone says, okay?"

"Will do, Princess. Your dragon is here. I'll be on my way," she said a little hurriedly before returning to the spirit world.

An odd sense of comfort, happiness and pride _exploded_ in her heart when she heard those two words. _Your dragon_ , she said. He was _her_ dragon.

A smile lifted the corners of her mouth and it was with this warm smile on her face that she greeted Rogue at the door with- three plates on her arms and a bowl for the salad, all balanced perfectly. She looked over and noticed how wide his beautiful red eyes were and how they seemed to dance in happiness. "Perfect timing! Dinner's just now done."

He licked his lips, though neither of them thought it was for the scent of the food she had prepared. Once again, he was _more_ than excited- in more than one way- to see her in what looked like nothing other than his shirt. Well, his shirt that was about her star sign. Either way, it was his shirt and it still wore like a dress on her short, small figure. It seemed to fit well in the bust area- just as the other one did- but it was so loose and fell to her mid thigh that he couldn't help his eyes as they raked up her legs.

Frosch wiggled out of his arms and ran over to Lucy, where she promptly picked the exceed up with a large hug. "Fro loves you, Fairy-san!"

She giggled happily and nuzzled the top of the pink frog costume in the hug. "And I love you too, Frosch~"

"Fairy-san?"

"Yes dear?" she asked, looking down at the adorable cat in her arms.

With the world's sweetest and most innocent smile on the cat's face, Frosch asked the one question Rogue honestly wanted the exceed to _wait_ to ask. "Can Frosch call you Mama?"

Her brown eyes widened in shock, but the smile that threatened to split her face in half was unmistakable. "Of course! I'd love that!"

"Yaaaay! Rogue! Mama made dinner!"

She looked over to him to see that the door had been shut and he was now standing right next to her. His arms wrapped around her waist loosely and he buried his face in her neck, his nose grazing across her pulse adoringly. "Well, we shouldn't keep _Mama_ waiting, should we?"

And her heart _must have_ skipped, like, forty beats. A pout was soon pulled to her face, though, as she realized that he was doing that lowkey teasing thing he did. "Alright then, _Papa_ ," she said pointedly, "take your seat then."

It was his turn for his heart to skip several beats. Frosch, still in Lucy's arms, only laughed adorably and jumped on the table to waddle over to the plate with two grilled fish on it.

Rogue, begrudgingly, pulled away from her and took his own seat next to Lucy's. Dinner was met with idle conversation and Frosch's random exclamations of happiness. It was the kind of dinner that you would see on some stupid Lacrima Vision sitcom where everything was too perfect for one night. She and Rogue bickered back and forth over small things that weren't supposed to matter- like what side of your plate you're supposed to put your drink down on. Frosch had fallen asleep on the table and Rogue, soon after he finished eating, took his partner to the bedroom to lay the exceed down at the end of the bed. After that, he changed into a pair of loose pajama pants and called it good.

When he returned to the kitchen, she was already in the middle of doing the dishes with a rather adorable pout pulled on her lips.

 _I don't. It's the little moments that drive away that fear... Waking up with her next to me, catching her in moments she wouldn't let anyone else see, just holding her... I just ignore it._

Rogue worried the flesh of his lower lip between his teeth and now fully understood what Sting had meant by that statement. Little moments like this one were the ones he was talking about. He returned to his place behind her, his arms once again snaking around her waist to just hold her as she did the dishes. From the way she leaned against him just a little bit more, he knew. He knew in that moment that no matter what he feared and no matter if he were mentally prepared for this thing... Whatever it may be... He was _ready_. But, after the day she had, he wasn't about to add anything else to her plate.

Tomorrow.

"Hey, Ryos?" she asked idly. Internally, she had decided to ask this question in order to see where he stood. Hopefully... Hopefully all went well.

"Hmm?" he responded, inhaling deeply. His brows soon furrowed at her scent, though. She smelled primarily like herself and secondarily like him... But the smell of Yukino mixed with a twinge of _Sting_ and Minerva with a twinge of _Orga_ made him more than a little jealous. Yes, it was only the women she had likely hugged all day... But the scent of other men on her- more specifically, the scent of _Sting_ on her- made him a _lot_ more jealous than he should have ever been.

"Will you help me move my stuff?"

Panic set in his chest. Oh god, he stiffened and froze faster than he could realize what her words were. Move her stuff? What did she mean? "What? Why? Where are you going?" he asked quickly before he could stop the questions from coming from his mouth.

Her brows rose and the smile that lit her face up was unrivaled. That was probably the most adorable reaction she could have ever heard. She cleared her throat, trying to force the smile down from her face- though it was in vain. At least she knew he didn't want her gone. And that gave her a little more confidence for breakfast tomorrow. "To the guest bedroom, of course. Virgo brought everything overnight and since I was in your room at the time, she just-"

"No."

His reply was stern, insistent, and final. Her brows went up again and she almost couldn't stop the giggle that threatened to bubble up. "Why not?"

"I told you," he said, lowering his head and finally loosening up as his nose brushed against her pulse point in her neck again, "I'm not leaving you alone. You're sleeping with me in my room and that's that."

"Oh really," she said, her voice as un-amused as she could make it. Of course she didn't want to move her stuff, and yes this was the reaction she wanted from him... But his wording made her feel like she needed to challenge him. "That's that, huh?"

She felt him freeze again as though he realized how that sounded. She could even feel his heart racing against her back, something that let her know that he was probably worried that she'd leave just because of his slip up. "I-I didn't mean... I just... I-"

And, finally, that laugh she had forced down before bubbled up and spilled from her smiling mouth. She couldn't keep it in any longer. "Ryos, I'm not moving from your room, you dork."

Still frozen in place, Lucy placed the last dish in the drainer before turning around in his arms to face him with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk on her face. And his eyes narrowed in playful anger. "You're so mean to me."

"Okay then _Loke_ ," she said, laughing a little at how much he reminded her of her lion spirit at that statement.

He rolled his eyes and lowered his hands down to rest on her hips. "You've _got_ to stop comparing me to other men."

"What? Don't like the challenge?" she asked teasingly, biting her lower lip.

He looked at her lip and licked his own lips subconsciously.

No. Not now. Not tonight.

So, instead, he ran his hands up her side slowly, smoothly, and sensually. He watched with amusement (and eagerness cause _damn_ did he want to take her _now_ ) as her cheeks grew flushed and her eyes reflected more emotions than he could place names to. But when he got to her ribs- a very short ways away from the bottom of her breasts- her breath hitched. He _almost_ growled at the sound. Almost. His nostrils flared as her scent spiked and grew muskier. She was affected by his touch. And that almost made him throw everything out the window and just take her on the counter. Instead, he reined himself in (barely) and smirked deviously.

Realization flashed in her wide, scared eyes the moment his hands shifted ever so slightly. "Ry- nO!"

Her laughter left her throat faster than she could finish his name. His hand, now tickling her sides without mercy, didn't let up at all- no matter how much she wiggled and squirmed.

"L-Let me go, you ass!" she yelled through her laughing.

"Uh uh," he refused, his smirk growing. "This is what you get for being mean to me."

"I- I've got to piss!"

"I don't believe you," he said tickling her sides more.

She squirmed more and tears started falling from her eyes as she tried even harder to worm away from him. Unfortunately, she _did_ eventually get away from him- and bolted straight for the bathroom. He laughed and rolled his eyes, knocking on the bathroom door as he started towards their bedroom.

 _Their bedroom_.

How the hell did two words make him feel that good?

"I'm not letting you in, you asshole. I'm on the toilet." Oh, he could _hear_ the pout in her voice.

He laughed at her again- which prompted a whine from her. "I was going to say I'll be in bed when you're done, but nice to know what you're doing."

"Go to bed already!"

"I am, I am, goodness."


	13. The Breaking Point

_**Author's Note** : Hey!_

 _Sorry for the delay with this chapter, yo. But, I feel much better now and I'm happy to finally get this chapter up and posted. c;_

 _Also, a quick reminder for the next chapter. **This fic is rated M for a reason.** In the next chapter, Rogue and Lucy finally mate, so there will be lemons. So just a warning I don't feel like I NEED to state (because it IS rated M) but just a little reminder for those of you who forgot. Also, thank you, everyone, for the love and support once again for this fic. But, also, thanks for the awesome messages of y'all worrying over my sick butt. I'm ecstatic that you guys care so much about not only this fic but the author too. Anywho, here we go with the fic!_

* * *

 _ **The Breaking Point**_

A pressure on his arm alerted Rogue of someone attempting to wake him. Everything around him was far too comfortable to be drawn from sleep that easily, though. He could smell Lucy's scent mingling with his all around him, he could feel the pressure of her body pressed against his and he could hear her soft breathing and the steady beating of her heart. He grumbled low enough so that Sting could be the only one to hear him- though something made him pause. It wasn't Sting trying to wake him. In fact, after last night, he couldn't even smell Sting on Lucy anymore (even if it had been through Yukino). Not only could he not smell the Holy Dragon, but he couldn't even hear another heartbeat other than his, Lucy's, and Frosch's.

His brows furrowed when something jabbed into his cheek enough to be uncomfortable but not enough to hurt.

"Dragon Prince?" a soft, effeminate voice called out in a whisper.

Who the hell was trying to wake him up? Did they honestly think that calling him _Dragon Prince_ would stop him from trying to rip their head off from waking him so early? His ruby eyes slowly opened as though he expected the light to be on and burning his retinas. However, no light was on- not that he minded. If it weren't for Frosch (and now Lucy) he probably wouldn't ever turn the lights in his house on.

He turned his head to see Lucy's spirit- the pink haired maid- bending over their sleeping forms with the ghost of a smile trying to lift the corners of her mouth. It would have been nice to see _some_ form of emotion on her otherwise stoic face. However, confusion quickly settled in and his brows furrowed even further at the intrusion. The sun was barely coming up (though it being this late in the year, that meant it was probably almost seven in the morning) and she was already waking him up. Usually he woke by rolling over and panicking briefly about Lucy no longer being at his side- not that he'd ever admit that.

She seemed to have the _faintest_ glimmer of mischief hidden in her otherwise dead eyes. "Princess requested me to wake her this morning for breakfast."

He grumbled again, closing his eyes and wiping his face with a hand. "So why are you getting me up?" he asked in an obviously irritated whisper.

"I thought you'd like to wake before Princess did for once and be the one to wake her," the maid countered.

Though irritation was seeping through his veins, one look down at the sleeping blonde using him as a pillow had wiped that irritation away. "...Thanks," he whispered so softly, he wasn't sure the maid heard before she disappeared.

He was laying on his back and, as though the two were magnets, she was clinging to him in her sleep. Her blonde hair was splayed out randomly all around her, her face was upturned as though she fell asleep looking at his face- which he knew wasn't true. They didn't fall asleep in this position. Her peaceful face made it seem like she hadn't a worry in the world and, even though her lips were parted slightly, she was thankfully not drooling on him. Not that he would have cared if she did. Gross as it might have seen... Drool only happened when your body was overly relaxed and salivating (like dreaming of something delicious... or steamy. Or both). So he wouldn't have cared in the least bit if she was- but she wasn't.

Her arms were around him to the best of her ability in this position- her left arm under his shoulder and her left hand in his hair. Her right arm was draped over him and would probably be clutching at his shirt- if he had one on, that is. Her left leg was pressed against his right one while _her_ right leg was draped over his torso. She seemed like she would have cried if he left her side at all- not that he cared. No, the sight of his mate clinging to him so fully...

It made his inner dragon purr in delight.

As much as he didn't want to disrupt her sleeping form- or force her away from him- he remembered the spirit's words. She wanted to be woken up to make breakfast. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, a smile on his face. Her face scrunched up a little and she nuzzled against his chest in response- telling him through body language alone that she wasn't ready to wake up. He chuckled at this and leaned down to kiss the top of her head again. Who cares if they weren't together yet? He was planning on changing that today, anyway. Anxiety be damned, Sting inadvertently told him all he needed to know. And, after last night, he knew he should take that advice.

Live in the moment. Don't put too much thought into the future.

"Luuuucy," he cooed out softly, still not wanting to wake the exceed sleeping at the end of his bed. "It's time to get up, Lucy."

She groaned in defiance against him and hid her face in his chest- as though doing that would hide her from him and keep him from waking her up. "Nnn... My... Dragon," she mumbled in her sleep before her breathing evened out again.

And his face was lit aflame. _Her dragon._

Oh, how he wanted to purr and just hold her there for the rest of their days. And oh, how he was tempted to do just that. But there was this fear of upsetting her by not waking her up when she wanted to be woken up. Sure, she'd probably get over it in a matter of seconds... But he never wanted to upset or disappoint her in any way at all.

"Come on, _my princess_ ," he whispered, wrapping his arm more tightly around her and shaking her slightly. "It's time to get up."

He knew she was awake now from the stutter in her breathing followed by a large sigh. Slowly, lazily, she turned her head back to face his and a rather endearing (and dorky) smile fell on her features as she took in his features. "G'morn'n, handsome," she mumbled happily.

Though he _did_ blush at her rather bold statement, he decided to return it. "Good morning to you, too, beautiful."

She hummed contently and rubbed her cheek against his chest again. "I wouldn't mind waking up like this all the time.."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing," he offered.

The two sat there for at least another three or four minutes, just looking into each others' eyes as though nothing else existed and time didn't matter. She was content with him just being there and he was more than happy that she was willing to just lay there with him without a care in the world. It was something he had never experienced and it was also something that sent his heart into a fluttering frenzy.

He sighed and leaned into her touch when she started running her fingers through his hair.

"What are you doin' up so early, anyway?" Her voice was lazy, slow, and airy. Just another thing that he could add to the fifty-kilometer-long list of things he loved about her.

He hummed contently. "Virgo woke me up. Said you wanted to get up early to make breakfast," he replied, turning his head enough to place a small kiss to her arm while she ran her fingers through his hair. "We cooouuuld just lay here all morning, though."

"We can't," she replied with a heavy sigh. He was reassured by that sigh, no matter what her answer was. It meant, to him, that she would have been happy just laying there with him. "I invited your team over for breakfast again," she said as she sat up and stretched.

A growl came from his throat before he could stop it.

The sound had cause Lucy to look over her shoulder at him and raise a brow. "Okay, Mister Not-A-Morning-Person. I thought it would be a good way to.. Uh.. Ease tensions after yesterday..."

He furrowed his brows and sat up with her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his lap. He nuzzled his face against the crook of her neck, sighing happily when his nose connected with her pulse point. "You're a bad liar, you know."

She froze in his arms and sighed, leaning into his hold more. "I know... Just... Trust me?"

"Of course I trust you," he answered.

"You'll see sometime soon, then... I haven't decided when, but either before or after breakfast you'll know."

He sighed, not liking being forced to wait- no matter how short that amount of time is. "Alright, I guess. You go ahead and get breakfast started, I'll get a shower."

"Don't take too long," she said, smiling back at him as she pulled away.

He wasn't ashamed of how intensely he stared at her as she meandered out of the room. Still in his shirt. A pleased growl ripped from his throat and a smile lifted the corners of his mouth in excitement for the day. Whatever she had planned, he honestly couldn't wait for it. Nothing could stop today from being an amazing day... From her greeting this morning- and her responses to him last night before bed- he was almost too confident she wouldn't turn him down. Then the slayers were meeting up for their bimonthly Slayers Night to just drink, talk, and relax. (Usually it was held twice a month in two different bars- one in Magnolia and one in Jacaranda (the city Sabertooth is located)) He'd finally get some advice on this whole mate issue, be able to talk to her guild mates about why she's been so depressed, and hopefully get some of his own stress and anxiety swept away.

Rogue gathered his clothes for the day and took off for the shower, fully intending on taking a long shower.. However the excitement for the day had him out of the spray and dressed in less than twenty minutes. And, unfortunately, by the time he made it out to his living room, his entire team was there. Sting was holding Yukino from behind swaying to some unknown source of faint music that even he could hardly hear, Minerva sat tiredly on the ogre's lap on his couch, and Rufus watched the entry way to the kitchen with a broad smirk.

He took a breath to ask why everyone was here already, but was met by the universal "shush" sign from all members of his team. One finger over their own lips, their eyes pointedly glaring at him.

Rogue's brows furrowed and he stalked- silently- over to the kitchen and stood in the doorway.

Now he understood.

Lucy was bustling through the kitchen like any other day but... This time she had a pair of sound pods covering her ears- looking far too much like the signature ones of Fairy Tail's lightning dragon slayer. There were rumors that he had adopted her as his younger sibling- or that they were close enough to be considered as such.. But there was something in Rogue that made him want to rip those headphones off her ears.

"She's been singing all morning. Hasn't noticed any of us here yet," Sting whispered when the piano of the song was heard by his acute sense of hearing.

Yukino whispered a little louder- not that the blonde woman would hear- "Lucy has an amazing singing voice, Rogue. Let her do her thing, we wanna hear more~"

And, now, the shadow dragon was intrigued.

" _I found myself dreaming  
In silver and gold_  
 _Like a scene from a movie_  
 _That every broken heart knows_ "

Ruby eyes went wide at the same time his breath caught in his throat. Now, he knew Lucy was a beautiful woman and there would be nothing he would ever find to fault her on, but this? He remembered from their interview night that she had an insane love for music that nearly rivaled her love for baths... And he remembered hearing her hum a little diddy with the speakers of the bar they were in as they played billiards... But hearing her sing out in the open? It was like that stupid light that had shown him that she was- in fact- his mate was back tenfold.

" _We were walking on moonlight  
And you pulled me close_  
 _Split second and you disappeared_  
 _And then I was all alone_ "

Her voice and the way it lilted with the words, the way it fluctuated from airy to powerful at just the right times... Dear god, now he knew why everyone was so silent. She could easily be the most amazing singer he had ever heard and, with the amount of movies he's seen, that would be saying something. He felt the weight of five pairs of eyes on him, but that didn't shake him back to Earthland. He didn't even care that his jaw was hanging wide open.

" _I woke up in tears  
With you by my side_  
 _A breath of relief_  
 _And I realized_  
 _No, we're not promised tomorrow~_ "

"Did something happen we should know about?" Rufus asked him quietly, nudging the red eyed man's arm.

Rogue gulped and shook his head, his mouth finally closing. "N-No.. Not that I know of.."

"It's been nothing but these songs all morning," Sting teased, raising a brow at his best friend.

" _So I'm gonna love you  
Like I'm gonna lose you_  
 _I'm gonna hold you_  
 _Like I'm saying goodbye_ "

The blush that blossomed onto Rogue's cheeks probably could have served as a traffic light. The lyrics had struck a cord in him and only further sated any lingering worries he might have had. Whether she was singing it about him or not, he knew... He just knew... The feeling in his heart was not misplaced. They were not, in fact, promised tomorrow. Sting saying he lived in the moment with his mate only further proved that there were just some things the blond man was subconsciously wise as hell on. The future would come no matter what it held and all that really mattered was here and now...

And that gave him all the reassurance he needed. Besides, he actually knew this song.

" _Wherever we're standing_  
 _I won't take you for granted  
'Cause we'll never know when_  
 _When we'll run out of time  
So I'm gonna love you_  
 _Like I'm gonna lose you_ "

In the time it took her to sing that chorus soulfully, Rogue had crossed the threshold of the kitchen, watching her movements like a hawk. She was almost done with breakfast and he would wait just long enough for her hands to turn the burners off before he had his arms wrapped around her. She squeaked, not expecting him out of the shower so soon, apparently. His hand meandered up and he removed the sound pods from her ears to let them rest on her neck. His team in there be damned, he wasn't going to waste this opportunity.

"In the blink of an eye," he sang out, his own baritone voice nearly matching the male singer's. Her chocolate eyes widened even further and a blush heated her cheeks. "Just a whisper of smoke... You could lose everything, the truth is you never know." The blonde turned around in his arms, staring up at his face in both confusion and hope. And excitement. He didn't fail to notice the way she bit her lower lip just a little harder with each word that fell from his lips.

"So I'll kiss you longer babe, any chance that I get," he sang out, noticing the new glimmer in her eyes when he did. He leaned down, their foreheads resting against one another now. "I'll make the most of the minutes and love with no regrets. Let's take our time and say what we want-"

" _Say what we want_ ," she echoed back, though her echo didn't stop him.

"Use what we've got before it's all gone-"

" _Aaaalll gone~_ "

Rogue's smirk rose to a wide smile and his left hand trailed up her body to hold her hand in his. He then pulled her body flush against his and swayed in place. "Cause no, we're not promised tomorrow.."

And the two sang the chorus together, their eyes never once parting and their bodies moving carefully around the kitchen in a lazy dance. Rufus's smirk was replaced by a gentle smile, Sting was now holding Yukino in the doorway (as it was the only way to keep her from squealing and ruining their moment) and Orga and Minerva were even watching the unofficial couple with broad grins on their faces. Even though none of the five mages knew just how long the two in the kitchen had liked (or loved) one another, they could easily tell that it wasn't something that would happen over the course of three days. No matter the secrets Rogue or Lucy kept, they knew it was for the better.

Seeing the two so genuinely happy made some sort of warmth bloom within everyone's chest. Well, until Rogue had to ruin it.

"So you love me?" he asked, a wide smirk sitting on his face.

Lucy pulled her hand from his and carefully stretched both of her palms up the expanse of his chest. She could feel the wild pounding of his heart against his rib cage, she could feel every single tense muscle in his body, and damn did it feel wonderful. "And what if I do?" she retorted, cocking a brow up.

Her hands hooked around his neck and his around her waist, pulling her impossibly close. Her heartbeat echoed his and, no matter how outwardly confident she seemed, that was more than enough to calm him down a little. There was still a faint bout of red laying across her cheeks. "Say it."

Her faint blush grew heavier but she complied nonetheless. "I love you."

He dove down and kissed her- just a swift yet somehow deep peck of a kiss. Nothing too heated, but it was more than enough for them both to feel the sparks of electricity. To feel what they just _knew_ to be their souls mingling. To know this was where they belonged- holding onto each other. If it were possible to get closer, Lucy would have. Leaning fully against him and using him as a support seemed like a close second, though. The softness of his lips made the butterflies in her stomach soar, the way he held her so tightly made her heart feel complete, and the way he kissed her so deeply without going too far made her toes curl.

Rogue pulled back just enough to smile, his nose buried in her cheek, and he whispered against her lips. "Again."

"I love you," she whispered back, breathless and definitely on cloud nine.

And again, she was rewarded with another innocent yet searing kiss. If he could kiss her like this and keep it completely innocent and short, yet still steal her breath and balance from her... Well... She was excited about the idea of finding out what else he could do to blow her mind.

"Again." He kissed her again before she even said it this time, peppering kisses from her mouth to her cheek and back.

She squirmed a little. "I love you."

He hummed contently and kissed her once again, his lips lingering just a moment longer than the ones previous. "Again."

She giggled and pulled back, smiling cheekily at him. "You first, dear."

"I love you," he responded soundly. His words were firm but his tone was full of awe. Full of hope.

Chocolate eyes met ruby eyes, both holding mirroring emotions of love, happiness, and excitement. Her dainty hand came up to rest on his strong jaw and she rubbed the apples of his cheek with her thumb before pulling him closer again. She placed a slower and deeper kiss on his lips. One that ignited their very souls to respond. One that filled them both with so much want and need to just be in each other's company. When they pulled back, faces red, she bit her lower lip and _still_ didn't look away from his ruby eyes. "I love you, too, Ryos."

"Um, breakfast?" Orga asked loudly. Not even a whole second later, he was getting smacked by Yukino and Minerva (and getting a rather scary glare from Rufus), causing Lucy to laugh a little.

Rogue grumbled loudly and growled a little but Lucy's hand now on his shoulder alleviated him from the growing irritation. "Come on in and take a seat," she called out to them, pulling herself away from a now-pouting shadow dragon slayer, "I'll have it on the table in just a second."

Rufus came in the kitchen first, equipping himself with oven mitts before helping Lucy get everything on the table. "You know, I don't have memory of Rogue ever singing for us."

"Oh?" Lucy looked back at the black haired man with a vibrant blush on his cheeks. She smiled. "Well, I guess I am just a lucky girl~"

Minerva laughed. "Oh come on, that was probably the cutest and sappiest way to get into a relationship. It was like something off of those Romantic Comedy movies."

"Oh you want sappy," Yukino asked, taking her seat at the table between the blond man and the territory mage, "you should have seen Sting."

"Yukino," he growled out desperately.

" _Yukino, not a day goes by without you on my mind. Would you consider maybe being by my side? I would be the luckiest man alive... If you can see past what I've done,_ " the light haired woman recited teasingly. "Said out on my front yard in the pouring rain with a bouquet in his hands. And, believe it or not, he was on his knees like he was begging me to say yes."

Laughter was heard all around and Sting slammed his blushing face down on the table.

"What a sap," Minerva laughed loudly.

"Well," Rufus started, putting the biscuits and gravy down on the table, "how did our God Slayer go about asking you, Milady?"

Orga chuckled and leaned back. "Simple. Told her I missed her."

The silence echoed but the women were giving each other knowing looks.

Rufus chuckled lightly. "Based on our ladies, I do not believe you're telling the whole truth."

"Oh, he mostly is," Minerva said, smiling. "He's just leaving out the part where he kissed me. Or the part where he told me exactly when he fell for me."

Sting shot up and leaned forward, desperate to embarrass someone other than himself. "Oh yeah? When was it, big guy?"

The teal haired man smirked widely and crossed his arms over his chest while Rufus took his seat. "After the first Games we entered. We got back to the guild and she had her hair up in a messy bun, no makeup, walkin' around my livin' room and cleanin' it. She had on one of my shirts and a pair of loose sweat pants and she has never looked more gorgeous than in that moment," he answered confidently.

Yukino squealed, causing Rogue and Sting to flinch. Lucy giggled and turned back to the blond haired man. "What about you? Any special moments you remember from Yuki?" she asked, passing out plates before sitting down.

Sting grumbled and looked away, but Rogue poked and prodded at his side. "Too embarrassed, _Master Sting_?"

"Why don't you tell _yours_ then?!"

Another bout of laughter was heard as everyone began making their plates.

"Alright, I will," Rogue answered. He licked his lips and looked up, his brows furrowing. "The first time I knew Lucy was special... Was the night we had our interview."

Lucy choked on the biscuit she was eating and, had it not been for Rufus patting at her back, she probably wouldn't have been able to breathe. "Seriously?"

He chuckled at her response and nodded. "Yeah. We ate at this restaurant in Magnolia for the actual interview, went to a bar and played billiards until it closed, and after that we went to the park and watched the stars. There was just something about the way she lit up like an excited child when she explained the constellations to me that had me tongue tied," he said honestly, a light blush on his cheeks.

"You two are living the life of a fucking romance movie, I swear," Minerva said through a bite of eggs with a wide smile on her face.

Lucy, red as a tomato at this point, couldn't stop staring at her plate as she ate. Sting seemed to notice this and calmed down, deciding to prod a little further. "And when you realized she was your ma-"

" _Sting_ ," Rogue growled out before he could finish the word.

The blonde woman looked up and raised a brow at the black haired man, a smile spreading over her own features. "Go on~ I wanna know when you realized I was your mate, too~"

Rogue blanched and stared at the woman with wide, shocked eyes.

Yukino rolled her eyes. "You know, you guys might think we didn't know this stuff before you asked... But Lucy and I both knew."

It was Sting's turn to blanch, staring at his mate with wide, blue eyes.

"Ooh!" Lucy said, barely remembering to swallow her bite of hash browns before getting too excited. "Was it like how Thunder Butt found out?!"

"Thunder-... You mean _Laxus_?" Orga asked, trying to suppress his laughter.

Chocolate eyes rolled dramatically. "Duh. Dude's like my brother, you know."

Rufus chuckled and leaned forward. "Tell me, Lady Lucy, how _did_ he find out? Our Twin Dragons don't know either."

"Really?" she asked, looking over to the slayers as they shook their heads. "Pfft. Lame. We were watching everyone spar out back at Fairy Tail and I remember talking to Bickslow about something having to do with his magic and all I hear is a loud boom. We all look over and Laxus comes zapping out of the guild and all we see is Mirajane in her Satan Soul takeover beating the ever loving _shit_ out of Natsu for mating with her sister before telling her about it. Sparky looked breathless and completely out of it and the only thing he said was _she's perfect_ and Bickslow and I still give him shit about that."

Orga's laughter finally boomed out of his chest. "Sounds like that damn dragon. Only takes shit in extremes."

"Actually," Rufus interrupted, "they all find their mates when they're in moments of anger."

"Really? Which time was it for me," Yukino asked, looking over at Sting who laughed and rubbed the back of his neck in response.

"Back in April.. I used all the hot water for the shower while you were in the middle of a project with Pisces and I had to dodge projectiles for the next two days."

The light haired woman giggled and rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ that would be it."

Rogue furrowed his brows. "Levy was beating Gajeel over the head with a dictionary, Sting had to dodge projectiles, Mirajane was beating Natsu..." he rattled off.

"Lisanna was throwing mugs at Elfman, too, don't forget that one," Sting responded.

"Maybe Lucy's just the tame one," he said curiously.

Rufus turned to him like he had sprouted a second head. " _Tame_?! Did you not see the damage she did to the bar?!"

Minerva looked over a Lucy, her brows up in astonishment. "That was you?"

The blonde woman rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly and nodded. "Yeah..?"

Rogue furrowed his brows further and shook his head. "I didn't see any damage at all..."

"Yeah, I didn't either."

Minerva sighed and rolled her eyes. "You two must have come in too late. Rufus must've fixed it before you guys came in."

"Wait, isn't the bar made of metal?" Yukino asked incredulously.

Rufus chuckled and placed both of his index and middle fingers on either of his temples. "I suppose I must show you the memory, then."

* * *

 _"How can I forget?! He was such a dick about everything and had the_ balls _to call_ me _low class. ME! I was raised to be a debutante, a member of the high society that motherfucking son of a cocksucking jackass could only HOPE to get into!" Lucy screeched._

 _To the side, out of Rufus's peripheral vision, you could see Rogue's eyes going wide as he watched her continue her rant. His red eyes were wide, entranced, and his pupil becoming more slitted by the second as he sat there near breathless._

 _"I swear, the next time I see that ASS WIPE_ _," she screamed, slamming her fist down on the marble topping of the bar so hard it cracked and shattered under her fist, "he won't be ABLE to fucking beg for forgiveness." Her eyes were now narrowed dangerously, as though she were completely unaware of the spiderweb-like fissures she put in the top of the surface with one simple punch. And, most likely, she_ was _entirely unaware of it._

 _"Where was his stand at?" Rufus asked, and in the memory from his point of view, they could see Frosch jump onto Rogue's shoulder. The small amount of pressure applied from the jump had the marble topping completely crumbling away from most of the bar._

 _She seemed to think about it and growled out angrily- in a manner that would have made any dragon proud. "He was between a florist's stand and a blacksmith's stand.. On the west side.. Ugh! Why didn't I pay more attention-" she screamed as she kicked out at the bar in front of her foot. Rufus barely moved out of the way as the metal painted like wood gave in and snapped under the pressure. "This is so ridiculous! I should just stomp my happy ass back and give that stupid-" another kick, another snapping of the metal, "- asshole a piece-" another kick, "-of my fucking-" another kick, "-mind!"_

 _Lucy growled out again and gave the bar one final kick- the entire left side collapsing from the damage done and the lack of proper stability to keep it held up. Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides and she looked like laser beams would have come from her eyes and melted the beer bottles behind Rufus at any second._

 _"Fairy-san..?" Frosch asked from sitting on Rogue's shoulder._

 _The anger on her face seemed to disappear at the exceed's voice and she turned to the precious cat with a soft smile on her face. "Sorry about that, Frosch."_

 _"Was Fairy-san upset about a bad man?"_

 _Rufus chuckled, surveyed the damage done, and returned his gaze to the exceed. "She was_ very _upset with a bad man, dearest Frosch."_

 _"Oh.. Rogue?" The exceed patted the man's stunned face two or three times. "R-... Rogue..?"_

 _Lucy, hearing the upset wavering in the exceed's voice, moved her hand to wave in front of his face. No response. She snapped two or three times at him as well. Again, no response. It wasn't until she put her hands on his shoulder to pick Frosch up that he responded._

 _"A-Are we.. Uh.. H-Heading out..?" he asked, sounding like he had just been choked up._

 _The woman furrowed her brows and nodded, eyeing him warily. "Yeah... Are you feeling okay?"_

 _"More than okay," he said in a whisper, shaking his head as he nodded. "Let's.. Let's go home."_

 _"Alright... Ruf- oh shit," she whispered, her eyes widening at the damage she had caused._

 _He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'll fix it come morning and if I cannot, I'll have Master Sting put it on the repairs. Don't worry about it."_

 _She bit her lower lip gently and looked back to him guiltily. "Are you sure..?"_

 _"I'm positive. You should worry more about getting Rogue home. He looks as though he's ready to faint any moment now."_

 _She and Frosch both looked back to the shadow dragon slayer, whose eyes had never once wandered from her person. "I suppose so... I'll make it up to you someday, okay?"_

 _Rufus shook his head. "Nonsense. You may repay us by simply visiting from time to time, even after you return home."_

 _She huffed and pouted cutely. "You're being a meanie. But, really, can you call that man in for me?"_

 _"I shall."_

* * *

Rogue groaned loudly, covering his burning face with his hands.

Orga laughed and looked over at the blonde woman. "Damn girl! Didn't think ya had that kinda power to ya!"

She smiled sheepishly but shrugged. "Big things can come in small sizes, you know."

"You should spar with me," the teal hair man said, shoving a strip of bacon into his mouth. "M' curious 'bout how strong ya are."

"M-Maybe sometime next week. I'd like to relax a little longer first," she offered with a nod.

"I'll hold ya to it," he responded with a nod.

The rest of breakfast was met with less embarrassment and more idle conversation. Once all was eaten- still leaving Lucy astonished by just how much everyone ate considering the large amount of food she had prepared- Rufus said he would go to the guild and make sure everyone knew it would be closed after five in the afternoon. Of course this was for Slayers Night, and everyone seemed to get a pep in their step following the statement. Minerva said that she and the ogre had to leave out for their job by noon and that she would use some of the reward to restock the food they all ate. Rogue tried to argue, but she and Orga were out the door before a proper argument could be made against it.

Yukino and Lucy cleaned the kitchen and took turns cleaning the dishes, floor, stove, oven and table to keep everything relaxed enough. And so that they didn't get too pruney from the dishwater. Rogue and Sting woke Frosch and Lector up and were in the middle of watching the exceeds talk animatedly about an adventure they had in the guild hall. All was good in the world in that moment, but all was better when the celestial mages finished cleaning and returned to the slayers' sides. Yukino curled up on the couch next to Sting and Rogue stood up to meet Lucy halfway through the house.

"Does Mama love Rogue?" Frosch asked, watching the duo as they held each other tightly.

Lucy giggled and nodded. "I do, Frosch. I love him very much," she responded, leaning up to place another small kiss to his lips.

He hummed happily against her lips and didn't hesitate to deepen her small kiss. He turned them both and dipped her low- much like in a dance- and tilted his head to gain better access to create the kiss he craved. She exhaled happily and pulled back long enough to look up at Rogue before he dove back in for another kiss, his lips moving against hers to part her lips. She didn't fight it and, instead, felt her toes curl again as she pulled her legs up. With him holding her weight completely, just before the real make-out session could begin, the front door opened.

The front door that they were about ten feet away from.

The door that held two people that weren't supposed to be there.

Yet.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The shrill squeal made the mages split apart, a little embarrassed but more startled than anything. They looked over to the door to see a very short blue haired woman next to an iron giant with a _very_ prominent smirk written all over his features.

Gajeel barely caught Levy's shoulder and cut her astonished and happy squeal at the scene they were witnessing. "Looks like the runt finally manned up. Spark Plug owes me fifteen grand," he said, stepping into the house like he owned it.

"LU-CHAN!" Levy screeched, dashing forward and knocking the blonde woman out of the shadow dragon's arms. Both women fell to the floor and heard Stings laughter. "I thought you said-"

"Levy!" Lucy scolded, her brown eyes narrowing. "I said _maybe_. That she _might_ have gotten him to."

The script mage narrowed her hazel eyes as she looked up to her best friend. "You sneaky little devil!"

"Gajeel," Rogue greeted, irritation causing shadows to lick at his skin.

The man laughed at the response and shook his head. "Man, I was wonderin when you'd get yours, but I gotta say I wasn't expectin' it to be bunny girl."

Rogue's head tilted in confusion. "Bunny-"

"Long story," the iron mage interrupted, "don't bother."

Lucy laughed at something that Yukino had said and the three ladies sat in the middle of the room, chatting their lives away and catching up on everything. From the few hushed words Rogue could make out, he knew Lucy was telling her about how they stayed in contact with one another for so long. He smiled softly at the sight of the three acting like sisters that hadn't seen each other in years and he knew, even though a scowl was on his face, that glimmer in Gajeel's eyes meant that he was thinking the same thing.

"Looks like the family's growin," Gajeel said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sting had stood and joined them at their spot. "What do you mean? Our slayer family?"

"That," he agreed with a nod, "and this also means that, whether ya like it or not, y'er an honorary Fairy now."

Rogue snorted. "I'm waiting for someone to skin me alive."

"Yeah, that might be Titania that does that," Gajeel chuckled out.

The other black haired man shuddered at the thought. "Don't remind me."

"What are you doing here so early, anyway?" Sting asked curiously, his head tilting to the side to only further show his confusion.

The iron dragon slayer snorted and rolled his eyes. "When ya told Master to have us bring our mates, Levy was adamant about getting here earlier than the others. Said she wanted to be the first to show that I finally marked her."

"Speaking of," Rogue started, crossing his arms as he looked over at the other slayer, "how the hell did you manage to go so long without marking her?"

He stiffened at the question.

Sting cleared his throat. "Makarov said Laxus was going through some serious health problems for not marking Mirajane. Why were you able to go longer without marking her, is what he's asking."

The Fairy seemed to relax at that and tilted his head enough to pop his neck before speaking again. "I was goin' through that bullshit too, just not as bad as Spark Plug. That moron went as far as to go nowhere near Satan for that whole time. My health bullshit wasn't as bad because I was still lettin' 'er come over an' was still goin' on missions with her."

"How bad did it hurt-"

"I'll tell ya this, runt," Gajeel growled out, looking over his shoulder to Rogue, "the moment she says its okay to mark her- fuckin' forget if you're ready or not an' just do it. Otherwise _she'll_ get sick." The saber mages furrowed their brows in confusion and he groaned in irritation at the fact that he had to give this information out. "When Spark Plug finally marked Mira, she was out for almost a week bein' sick as hell. Shrimp was sick for a day or so because I didn't mark her soon enough. Whatever health problems y'er havin' gets pushed on y'er mate. They won't die from it but it's like our inner dragon's gettin' back at us for bein' stubborn shits."

"IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME!" Lucy shouted, clamoring up from her position before tackling the fuck out of Gajeel- causing him to stumble back a step.

The Fairy man chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Shut the hell up, Bunny. Don't go judgin' me."

"I'll judge you all I want to, you damn lug," she said, smiling up at him before pulling away. However, her brows soon furrowed. "Wait, why the hell are you here? You two should be stuck up in your house for, like, the next week."

"I made him!" Levy shouted, smiling widely. "He kept me cooped up long enough."

Gajeel growled lowly and looked away.

Lucy laughed and shook her head. "When you two get back- after the Eclipse- let him keep you cooped up longer, girl." The blonde then walked back over to the women and sat back down on the floor where their conversation continued as though nothing happened.

Rogue smiled warmly at her, not going unnoticed by either of the other two slayers.

"Y'know," Gajeel started, "I'll give ya a heads up."

The Saber mages tilted their heads and turned back to the iron dragon. "For what?" they asked in unison.

He jerked his chin forward, motioning towards Lucy. "Bunny. I know ya better than the others do, Ryos. Y'er a slayer and a damn dependable one at that. I ain't gonna say a damn thing about it. But you know Spark Plug and Salamander are gonna threaten ya 'bout her. I can guarantee ya, they'll forget y'er a slayer an' would give y'er life fer her and threaten t' beat ya within an inch of y'er life."

Rogue snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I figured that the moment I realized she was my mate. I'm pretty sure if she cries even once on my watch- because of me or not- I'll be skinned by everyone in Fairy Tail."

"Damn straight," Gajeel responded with a wicked smirk adorning his lips. "Bunny is important to all of us for a shit ton of reasons. Let's say it this way. She's the one who finally got Salamander and Ice Princess to work together easily- no matter what anyone says, Titania ain't the one holdin' that team together. She's the one who had the biggest hand in bringin' Lisanna back for Salamander. I _tortured_ her an' she still accepted, respected, and cared fer me bein in the guild. First one t' forgive me. Laxus and his groupies forced us to fight against each other to try an' take over th' guild. When he was able t' come back into the guild, she was the first one to accept him like nothin' ever happened- even if he said some biznasty shit 'bout her to begin with.

"She forgave his groupies, too, like nothin' ever happened. She brought this fuckin' guild back together almost single-handedly and paid for the damn thing to be rebuilt almost all on her own. She's a fuckin' beacon of light no matter what the hell anyone says," he continued in a low tone so the women couldn't hear him. "Out of everyone in the guild, we all got the most respect fer her above anyone else. Shit, even that fuckin' monster Gildarts respects her as much as he does Master. That's sayin' some shit, if ya ask me."

Sting nodded, watching the women all the same as the iron slayer was. "Yeah. She was the first one to forgive us completely for what we did at the Games, too."

"It ain't just us ya gotta deal with, either," Gajeel said, looking at Rogue. "Ya do one wrong thing with her, ya got Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale and Quatro Cerberus in line to beat yer ass, too."

"No pressure or anything, right?" Rogue commented sarcastically, though he could only smile as he watched her talk animatedly with the other two women. "Not that what you guys did was something to bat an eye at... but I _killed_ her. She watched my stupid future self murder her future self. And she still forgave me. Believe me when I say I understand what she means to you guys."

Gajeel snorted. "Ain't nobody holdin' what he did against ya."

"I know, but the guilt will always be there."

"Trust me," he said, his eyes settling on Levy's form, "I hear that."

* * *

"My main question," Lucy said, "is why me..."

The mates of the slayers were all sitting in Rogue's living room on the floor. Lisanna and Mira were cuddled against each other sitting with their backs against Rogue's couch, while Levy and Yukino had Lucy sandwiched between them. Lucy sat straight up while Yukino- on her left- and Levy- on her right- leaned against her. Wendy was laying on her back with her head in Lucy's lap, as well, and everything seemed very calm in the atmosphere.

"I think I can answer that a little better than the rest of them," Wendy said, looking up at her surrogate sister. "Dragon males look for someone who they can protect- like dragon women. However, they look for something specifically different than the women do."

"So," Lisanna started, "what you look for in your mate is different than what they do?"

"Yep!"

"Do you know who your mate is?" Mira asked in an excited manner.

Wendy blushed heavily and looked off to the side. "I do.. Um.. I won't need to mark him or anything until I'm of age... Grandeeny did explain that much to me. Women dragons know who their mate is long before they're ready to actually mate... So I have a lot of time to establish a proper relationship before I get to that point..."

"It's Romeo, isn't it?" Lucy asked, her brown eyes twinkling.

The sky dragon hid her embarrassed face in her hands and nodded. "Y-Yeah..."

"Aaaa! That's so cute!" Mira squealed and clapped excitedly.

Yukino tilted her head a little. "Isn't he the fire mage that looks up to Natsu?"

"He sure is," Lisanna clarified. "Romeo Cobalt. He's young, but he's pretty strong for his age and he looks at Natsu like a brother."

Levy giggled. "And he is aaaalways _protecting_ Wendy from the guild brawls, too~"

The youngest blue haired lass whined in embarrassment and covered her face further, but was calmed down when Lucy placed her hands on her arms. When their brown eyes met each other, Wendy smiled shyly and nodded. "You wanted to know the differences?"

"If you don't mind talking about it, sweetheart," she said softly, running her fingers though her deep blue hair soothingly.

"I don't mind," she said softly, purring a little at the comfort the small action provided. "You see, male dragons are often seen as the dominant ones but, really, that's not true. They look for a mate who will let them be domineering when they feel like it but who isn't afraid to put them in their place when needed. They look for a mate who will fight back and challenge them when they need to be challenged. But they also look for a mate who will balance them out because their dominance is an act that makes them feel like they can protect their mate, but in all reality, their mate holds the reigns in the relationship."

"So that's why Laxus likes it when I dominate him," Mira mumbled, looking up at the wall as though it was giving her the answers to life.

Lisanna whined and shook her head. "I _really_ didn't need to hear _anything_ about your sex life, sis!"

Wendy blushed but the laughter from the other women echoed in the house. "Don't worry, Lis, Gajeel likes that too," Levy said with a wink.

Yukino giggled a little louder. "So does Sting~"

The youngest girl whined and hid her face again. "I don't want to hear this about my brothers!"

Lucy laughed and kept playing with the youngest girl's hair, calming her down a lot. "So I balance him out and challenge him when he needs to be challenged?" she asked, changing the subject back to it's origin for the sky dragon's sake.

Wendy let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah... You do. Your magic, also, will be something that their magic can't touch, too."

"That makes sense for Lucy, since her magic is a form of light magic and Rogue is a shadow dragon slayer... But what about me?" Yukino asked curiously.

The sky dragon sat up to give Lucy better access to her hair and cleared her throat. "Let me rephrase that. It will be a form of magic that theirs can't touch, but also a form that can boost their magic if need be."

"Like when I write _Iron_ and let Gajeel eat it?" Levy asked, tilting her head.

"Exactly. In a sense, Gajeel can't touch your magic because even if it gives words a tangible form, it's the words themselves that give you that power. Mira's Satan Souls are dark and evil magics that Lightning- being a form of Light Magic- cannot touch... But her Souls give her different powers that can boost his attacks. Just like Lisanna's can with Natsu's."

Yukino sat in silence and thought a little harder about it before she made a noise of excitement. "So I might not know it now, but it will show itself later.. Yes?"

"Yeah," Wendy continued. "I have no idea how exactly Romeo's fire magic helps mine yet, but I'll know when it happens."

Lucy nodded and bit her lower lip. "And this isn't like... Pre-destined? Like, he wants to be with me... Right?"

"Yes, oh yes!" Wendy said, getting a little louder as she stood up in her excitement. "A mate isn't random, it's based off of the people we feel most comfortable around. Our dragons- inner dragons, anyway- make the best decision for us based on who we feel best around... But they don't make that decision randomly. I think Rogue probably felt strongly about you for a long time before his inner dragon finally decided on it."

"Oh, he did," Yukino teased, leaning towards the blonde woman with a smirk on her face.

Lucy winked at her and she giggled. "The feeling was mutual, you know~"

"Aaaa!" Mira squealed. "Seriously! Lucy, if you don't at least _think_ about making me a godmother or an auntie, I'm going to be upset."

"To be an aunt, Mira, you have to be related to them."

"LUCY!" Lisanna shrieked out, her blue eyes wide. "Why would you sell me out like that!"

The blonde laughed and shrugged. "I never said you. Elfman is also a contender!"

All the ladies laughed and shook their heads.

"Oh," Lisanna said, speaking up as Wendy took her seat again, "there is something I want to tell you... Since no one else is bringing it up. You'll be able to use a little bit of his magic when you mate- not a lot, but just a little. And you won't be able to be hurt by natural or magical attacks of that element. Natsu nearly lost his mind when there was an explosion on our last mission, but it didn't even singe my hair."

Levy nodded and looked up. "It's true, Lu. Gray and Natsu were fighting yesterday and threw one of Erza's iron swords at each other and Gajeel couldn't stop it before it got to me. It should have pierced my shoulder, but it didn't even scratch me."

"Huh," Lucy said, making an impressed face.

Mira leaned forward at that point and smirked. "It's because they go dragon force when they mark their mate!~"

Wendy whined and covered her face again while everyone laughed lightly at the poor girl's response at the sex conversation.

* * *

"So I'm going to want to be holed up with her for, like, a week after we mate," Rogue said, raising a brow.

The nods from the other four Slayers was his first response. He quickly refilled Natsu's mug and slid it back to him.

Laxus cleared his throat as he leaned on the bar they were sitting at- well, and that Rogue was sitting behind. "The exception is if she asks and convinces you to leave. It's like you'll do anything and everything to keep from making her upset. Fuckin' trust me on that. I can't tell you how many times I've been stuck cleaning the bathrooms at the guild because Mira throws those damn puppy eyes at me."

Gajeel laughed but Natsu shuddered- and was the one who spoke next. "He's not lying. Lisanna asks for the weirdest shit sometimes but when she busts out those puppy eyes... It's like I physically can't tell her no."

Rogue rolled his eyes, sliding back onto the seat that was on his side of the bar. "Well, call me whipped but we haven't mated and it's already like that for me."

"Might be because of the eclipse coming up," Sting offered, taking a drink from his own mug of ale.

"Nah," Gajeel replied with a shake of his head. "To an extent, we all were. Ryos is just more in tune with his instincts and didn't fuckin' fight 'em like the rest of us assholes."

Natsu barked a laugh out and shook his head. "I didn't fight them, moron, you and Laxus were the only ones."

Laxus raised a brow and sent a very small shock to the fire dragon's shoulder. "Not the mating instincts, idiot. The little voice that makes you want to bend over backwards for Lisanna."

The pink haired man seemed to stop and think about it before he nodded. "Oh, yeah. I didn't know what the hell that was back before we mated."

"Hah," Sting laughed out. "Seems like even though Rogue's the last of us, he's the smartest."

"Hell yeah I am," he said confidently, only to snort and shake his head at the statement. "But, enough of this. I do have something I need to talk to you guys about before we can leave."

Sting stiffened and everyone noticed that. "Seriously, man? Conversation's so light though..."

"Yeah, but I made her a promise and you know how she is with her promises," the shadow dragon replied.

The thunder dragon leaned back on the stool, crossing his arms after finishing his mug off. "The hell did you promise my sis?"

Rogue quietly took everyone's mugs and topped them all off before handing them back and inhaling deeply. The slayers seemed to go stiff at this and Sting went straight into chugging the rest of his newly filled drink. "Give me another glass before you get into this. I'm not about to listen to this _again_ without something holding me down."

Again, the shadow dragon refilled Sting's glass before returning his attention to the three fairies. "I've been threatened within an inch of my life by you all, growled at, and assaulted for something outside of my control. That, I can look over and forgive because I know what Lucy means to you all. But," he growled out aggressively, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "I _will not_ fucking stand for what you did to her."

"What we did?" Natsu asked, ignoring his instincts to get on the defensive. If he hurt her, he would ignore his instincts and let Rogue beat the hell out of him- not that he'd say that aloud. "You might want to explain before Laxus shits his pants and shocks you again."

"Shut the hell up, Salamander," Gajeel growled out lowly, noticing the lightning dragon's tension. "What the fuck did we do?"

Rogue shook his head and calmed himself down. "I won't start from the very beginning, since you all know more about her than we did and she had to explain some stuff from the beginning for us. Let me ask you two questions first. Do you know what exactly her spirits mean to her?"

After three nods, Sting got up and walked around the bar to refill his own mug and keep his back to the conversation.

"Alright. You know how deeply she cares for them, then. Do you remember being stuck in the walls of Tartaros's cube?"

There was a pause before three more nods.

Rogue crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes at the three slayers. He ignored the doors opening and the ladies' return. He couldn't smell Lucy or Yukino with them and, without the blonde here, he wasn't about to hold back. "How the hell do you think you got out of those walls? Just some miracle? _No_ , a sacrifice had to be made. When you were all trapped in the walls of that cube, Lucy was left alone to fight not one but _three_ demons on her own. She opened three gates _at the same time_ and still wasn't strong enough to stop them. So you know what she did?"

The silence in the guild hall was eerie and only disrupted by Sting punching the counter top.

Rogue continued at the silence. "She sacrificed Aquarius's key to summon the Celestial Spirit King. She's been hurting- _aching_ \- since that fight and none of you had the sight to see that even through her mask, she's been _hurting this entire time._ Natsu, you left _the next fucking day_ without a single word to her. The rest of you left her alone for the next _year_ like nothing ever mattered. Hell, even I saw that she was hurting when we first did out damn interview two years ago!"

"How the hell were we supposed to know?!" Natsu shouted, tears in his eyes at being singled out. The guilt was already setting in his gut, but he had to push past it. "She never said anything-"

"You know her better than anyone else, Natsu!" Rogue yelled back, not hesitating to get in the fire dragon's face. "You should have known at the end of that battle that you weren't the only one suffering from a loss! If nobody else, _you_ should have!"

The pink haired man looked off, a shadow covering his eyes and his shoulders shook with the force of everything as he tried to hold in his tears.

"Aquarius was the last thing she had connecting her to her parents and she _sacrificed_ that last little piece to save you all. I get it- hell, she even told me it was _her fault_ for not telling you all. But can you blame her? It was too fresh to talk about and by the time she was ready to talk, you all had left. You left her alone in Magnolia, knowing that the only other life she had was with her father. But did any of you at least _try_ to stay in contact with her? No. And when she rounded you all back together? You were all so happy to be with each other again that you completely blocked out the thought of a comrade being in the pain she was in-"

"Ryos-" Gajeel tried to stop him, but the shadow mage didn't stop.

"And you know better than anyone that she would never want to rob anyone of their happiness or make anyone feel guilty for her. You all should know that. You _left her_ there _alone_ like she was promised she never had to be again. Natsu, you _promised_ her that you would always be her partner. Gajeel, you _promised_ her that you wouldn't make her hurt again. Laxus, you _promised_ her that you would do everything in your power to keep everyone together after you tore them apart-"

"Rogue please," Natsu whimpered out, but again, the shadow dragon didn't stop.

Instead, he got louder.

"No! Don't turn away from this! You deserve to feel this shit for _ignoring the one person who has never once turned her back on you_! You said she was a beacon of light that you all wanted to protect, so _why didn't you do it this time_?! Why did it take someone from _outside of your guild_ to come in and help her let it all out?!"

The silence was broken by Mira and Lisanna's whimpers and Wendy's sniffles.

Rogue was pissed. And he still wasn't done.

"You all are supposed to be family, but if this is how you treat someone... By ignoring the possibility of them being hurt deeper than you care to deal with... I don't _want_ to be a part of this, no matter who my mate is." His words were sharp, his tone low and dangerous.

"We get it," Laxus said, his voice cracking ever so slightly. "We fucked up. We don't need this-"

"Fucked up?" Rogue replied, interrupting him. "You did more than fuck up. Lucy summoned the Celestial Spirit King, sacrificed the key that held her dearest and closest childhood friend, and you know what's _fucked up_ about that? She still thinks she was weak. She killed Jackal and still thinks she's weak. She summoned the King who was the reason you all got out of that mess in the first place and _she still thinks she's weak_. Because she wasn't strong enough to hold him here and he could have stopped everything so no one else had to fight even though she _saved the entire fucking world by doing this_ , she still thinks she's WEAK."

The slayers were crying at Rogue's words and their mates were no better.

He wasn't about to let them off the hook for hurting her like this.

"You asked each other about the cube but never her. She probably would have said something if you would have had the mind to ask her as well. Two years. For two years she held this in. She held onto that guilt. She held onto these feelings. She saved your asses, she saved the fucking world, and she kept it to herself because she feels like she let everyone down because they still had to fight. So you tell me. Why the hell should I stop when she felt worse than you do now for _two whole fucking years_ and you're getting upset like this over less than five minutes and can't handle it."

A flash of golden sparkles shined next to Rogue and a hand was placed on his shoulder. Loke stood there, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Rogue, go to the Princess. Take a long walk and relax. She's waiting for you."

The shadow dragon inhaled deeply and nodded, walking around the bar and grabbing his coat.

"Leave Frosch with Rufus for the night," the lion spirit said. "My Princess said she needed to talk to you about something important."

When the shadow dragon left, they all thought Loke would leave, but he stayed there. He stayed there with his eyes narrowed at her guild mates.

"Rogue tore into you all enough, but I will say something he didn't. You all didn't have to watch her tear herself apart day in and day out like we spirits did. She hardly ate, hardly slept, and pushed herself to extremes I'm certain not even you, Laxus, could hit. She was withering away to nothing before she got her job at Sorcerer Weekly. Rogue was the one to make her feel better- not even us spirits could do that. I was- and still am- a proud member of Fairy Tail so I'll say this..."

The room went silent, everyone listening to the lion spirit even if they weren't looking at him.

"No true nakama would ever turn their backs on each other- disbanded guild or not- the way you all did. Not just to Lucy, because I know she wasn't the only one who took the disbandment that hard. You need to reevaluate what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard."


	14. The Mating Process

_**Author's Note** : *clap clap clap clap clap*_

 _Again, I want everyone to keep in mind that **this fic is RATED M for a reason**. That reason being this chapter. And maybe later chapters, too. ;3c_

 _The comments I got on the last chapter had me giggling like a idiot as I read them. I honestly didn't think the reviews on that last chapter would be too great but holy crap. I thank you all for the support you've given both me and this story! However, I will have to announce that I will be away until after Halloween, so the next chapter will not be posted until November Second. I hope you guys can bare with me until then!_

 _I love this holiday so much and really wanted to do something for it but I'm not even going to be online to do something. Ugh. Just my luck._

 _Anywho, I hope this smut will tide you sinners over until I can come back to post again!_

 _Enough of all of that nonsense. Here we go!_

* * *

 _ **The Mating Process**_

Rogue sighed heavily as he opened the door to his house. He hadn't spent a night away from Frosch in a long time, but it didn't seem like that mattered at all to the spirit. Whatever it was Lucy needed to talk about made him both nervous and curious. He had just unintentionally released all of his pent up frustrations on people he considered to be friends. It didn't leave a pleasant feeling behind, either. No, she was the one who told him to tell them... But... She never told him to yell at them the way that he did. These were friends. _Friends_. And he probably made them feel like the worst beings alive.

 _Good_.

He sighed again and kicked the door shut before removing his shoes.

Lucy's scent was strong- very strong. There was no need to look up and see her standing there when he could smell her and hear her heartbeat... A new wave of guilt washed over him at this. He didn't deserve her, nor did he deserve her trust. At the very least, she wasn't the one who got yelled at. That didn't mean she was going to be any less upset with him, though.

"Ryos?"

That one sound. That one sound that simultaneously made him feel better and worse at the same time. His heart stuttered and he wasn't sure if it was out of fear of what she might say or from the sound of his name falling from her lips so perfectly. Finally, red eyes lifted to meet brown and a soft whimper left his throat.

He walked forward slowly before pulling her into a tight embrace. Her arms wrapped around him and the feeling of one of her hands rubbing his back only served to make him feel even more guilty. He powered through it, though, trying to keep his tears at bay. He had to tell her himself. If someone else told her, she was going to leave him for sure... But if he told her himself, then maybe- just maybe- he'd be able to get on his knees and beg for her forgiveness. Maybe. Oh, god, the last thing he wanted was to be the cause of her grief.

"Dear, what's wrong?" she asked in a hushed tone.

He bit his lower lip and dropped his nose to rest atop her head as it lay against his shoulder. "Not right now."

She nodded and continued to rub his back soothingly, trying to let him know that she was there for him. It didn't work too well, though, as he seemed wholly preoccupied by his own thoughts. Whatever had him upset had her wanting to punch it in the face. And her punches were no joking matter anymore. A deep inhale by Lucy- as she basked in his dark-wine scent- was what finally had him realizing that he couldn't lose her. No matter what, he couldn't do it. If that meant telling her and then getting on his knees to ask for forgiveness then fuck his pride. He'd do it in a heart beat.

He bent a little and lifted her up, one arm around her shoulders and the other in the bend of her knees. The exact way any princess would deserve to be carried. And, without further hesitation, he carried her off into their room.

 _Their room_.

While Rogue thought he had no room to be happy at the moment, those two words had a small sliver of hope filling his heart.

"Ryos, are you okay?" she asked as he sat her down on the bed.

He shook his head, placing his forehead against hers and staring into her deep chocolate eyes. He hated the look of worry filling them, oh damn did he hate it. Simply because that worry was for him. It was misplaced and that's what was the most upsetting. His own red eyes showed nothing but sadness and regret, though, so in Lucy's mind the panic in her heart was completely justified. Anyone would be worried if the one they loved showed nothing but sadness.

"I love you," he whispered, leaning down a little further to place a kiss on her cheek.

She blinked twice, thoroughly confused, but nodded nonetheless. "And _I_ love _you_."

He bit his lower lip again and pulled away from her to strip himself of his outerwear: waist guard, cloak, sword and neck piece. When he was dressed solely in his gray long sleeved shirt and black pants he returned to her side, crawling up on the bed a little ways away from her. Lucy carefully sat criss-cross and pulled him down, letting his head rest on her lap. Her hands went to play with his hair, the black silken threads falling between her small and dainty fingers so naturally. She mentally made a note to steal his shampoo and conditioner when she next took a bath- hopefully tomorrow morning. Right now, however, there was a dragon slayer that needed her help.

"Tell me when you want to, _my dragon_ ," she said softly, a smile lifting her lips. "I'll be right here for you."

Another whimper came from him and he shut his eyes tightly. He was certain she wouldn't stay by his side when she found out what exactly he did. "I... I'm so sorry..." he breathed out.

Her brows furrowed, instantly thinking he was suffering from Future Rogue's memories again. "Dear, there's no reason-"

"There is, Lucy," he interrupted. His red eyes were filled with tears and it broke her heart to see it.

She inhaled shakily and nodded. "Then tell me about it."

His sharp canine left his mouth to worry the flesh of his bottom lip- much in the way she wanted to bite that same lip. But she had to ignore her desires. That could be saved for tomorrow. Or after the eclipse. She didn't want him to start hurting like Laxus and Gajeel did and, honestly, she felt ready for him. She had been for over five months now- not that she ever even realized it. However, that didn't matter in the moment. What mattered were the tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

When the first tear fell, she diligently leaned down to kiss it away, which brought a rather cute blush to his cheeks.

"I.. I failed you," he whispered.

Her brows furrowed but a soft smile soon took the place of a confused look. "Dear, if you forgot to tell them, we can always wait and tell them later-"

"No, no. I... I told them.. But.." He took a shaky breath and reached up to place his hand on her cheek. She nuzzled against his hand and leaned into his touch, still dutifully playing with his hair. "Promise... Promise me you won't run right away..?"

She let out a small laugh and nodded. "Of course. I promised you that first night I stayed here with you that I wasn't going anywhere and I don't break my promises."

His ruby eyes widened in remembrance and they watered more, causing another two tears to fall. Both tears she kissed away.

"You're too good for this world," he said, a saddened smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

She giggled and shook her head. "No, dear, if you want to meet someone too good for this world you should look in a mirror. Or talk to Frosch."

He gave a wet chuckle and nodded at her statement, agreeing fully. Rogue then cleared his throat and closed his eyes, not daring to look at her as he explained his reasoning for feeling so terrible. His hand fell from her cheek. I yelled at them. I yelled at your closest friends and made.. I made them cry with how angry I was.."

Lucy's hands stilled in his hair and her body went rigid. Panic gripped at his heart so strongly that he was certain he was going to start hyperventilating. He bit his lower lip harder and tried to focus on anything other than how still she was, but it wasn't working. In his panic, he couldn't even smell her naturally relaxing scent.

"Ryos," she whispered. "Look at me."

He shook his head, refusing to see the disappointment in her eyes.

He heard her huff and the next thing he felt was her lips against his. Her soft, plush lips pressing so lightly against his own that he wasn't even sure they actually touched. "Look at me, dear," she breathed out against his lips before placing another gentle kiss to them.

He whimpered a little and opened his eyes, finding hers lined with tears. That panic turned to straight terror in that moment. Making her cry was the _last fucking thing_ he wanted to do. However, he looked at her eyes a little more deeply and found that they weren't filled with anything negative at all. If anything, she _seemed_ to be crying out of happiness, but he wouldn't let himself believe that. No. He had to be sure. "Why... Wh-Why are you-"

"Thank you," she said so softly even he had to strain to hear her.

In her eyes, and in her heart, the reason he went off on them was because he hated how she cried. Because he cared for her and loved her, he didn't want her to hurt and he wanted to turn a blade to anyone who hurt her- intentionally or not. While this was _definitely_ the reason he did that, she wasn't about to ask him. She just wanted to believe.

"B-But... I hurt your friends-"

"Protecting me," she rushed out to interrupt him. "You were protecting me and my feelings. That means... That means the world to me."

His hand came up to hold her cheek again. Now, he found that _he_ was the one brushing away her tears. How the hell she could bring him from almost having a panic attack to smiling like an idiot for making her this happy, he didn't know. "I honestly can't explain how much I love you."

She gave a wet laugh and shook her head. "If you love me, you'll give me a proper kiss already."

He nodded and released his hand from her cheek to prop himself up on his elbows. Even if they weren't eye-to-eye (think of a Spiderman Kiss), their lips were still like magnets drawn to one another. When their lips met it was soft, hesitant, and gentle. Not that Lucy didn't like it, it just wasn't exactly what she wanted. She wanted that dominance he showed before Gajeel so rudely interrupted them.

Then again, with that kind of a kiss, she was pretty sure Sting and Yukino would have interrupted them eventually.

He pulled back from her and looked up, a small smile lifting his lips. "Are you sure you're not upset with me?"

A snort of a laugh came from her as she rolled her eyes. "Please. Natsu always saw me almost like an item too delicate to be broken and protected me in battle but... I've honestly never had someone that stood beside me and still protected me like you did tonight," she trailed off in a whisper, her brown eyes sparkling in their own unseen light. "I could never be mad at you, especially if you did something like that."

He smiled wider and kissed her again, a little more forceful this time but still innocent.

An idea came into her head. If the dragon slayers really did like a woman who could dominate them in the bed...

Lucy growled and moved her lips, taking note of the small shiver that raced through Rogue at the sound. His lips began slowly moving against hers as well, not caring that it was sloppy from the way they weren't both facing the same direction. Yet, _somehow_ \- in a way she was certain only Rogue would be able to do- the kiss was still innocent. She huffed through her nose and just as he was about to pull away (probably to ask her what was wrong) she dragged her bottom lip over his top lip. He froze the moment she pulled his bottom lip into her mouth and bit down on it none too gently before pulling away from him fully.

"That's not the kiss I want, Ryos~" Her voice was teasing yet tempting, husky yet airy.

Rogue's immediate response was a growl.

He lifted himself to turn around and give her a _proper_ kiss (and not have an awkward make out session that he definitely wanted to instigate) but he was shoved down as he was turning. His head hit his pillows- that smelled wonderfully like their mixed scents- and he found that he was laying flat on his stomach. Just as he went to push up and turn back to her, he felt her straddle his waist. And _holy shit_ did it take _everything_ within his power to sit still. She was sitting on his ass and the feeling of her small yet nimble fingers rubbing up his back made him feel like the room was about fifty degrees too hot.

"L-Lucy..?"

"Shhhh," she shushed. She let her fingers travel the delicious expanse of his back selfishly and bit her lower lip as she did so. "You're still tense," she cooed out, "let me help you."

"That's not the reason I'm tense." His words were honest and his tone was strained. She has been teasing and testing him since the first morning he saw her in nothing more than his shirt.

A giggle bloomed from her and she leaned over him, her hands sliding up underneath his shirt to feel his back without that barrier. Her breath was suddenly at his ear and another shudder wracked through his body. With her sitting on him, she _obviously_ felt it and that only embarrassed the shadow mage more. "Come on, baby, tell me why you're tense then~"

Her _words_ , their _position_ , and her breath lingering so close to his ear... Everything about this moment seemed to come together to get a response from his slowly hardening length. "Y-You know why I'm tense.."

"Oh, I do?" she asked teasingly.

His red eyes went wide and an unhindered moan slipped from his mouth the moment the cartilage of his ear was pulled between her teeth. The light yet firm pressure applied to the flesh sent a delightful tingle straight from his ear to his groin. He firmly set his jaw, grinding his teeth together in an attempt to remain calm and fight the vixen on his back. She was in control, which meant she controlled just how far they went. No matter how much he wanted to flip them and make her scream his name repeatedly, he wouldn't. If she didn't want to go too far, he would stop and she needed to be in control for that.

"Ryooos," she whispered. He felt his shirt bunching up by his arms and knew that she took advantage of his hazy moment to nearly strip him. "This is in my way. I want it off."

"Yes, my princess," he answered breathlessly.

Her brown eyes widened. She watched in a daze as he pulled his shirt off without moving much from his position, but his scrumptious torso wasn't the cause of her shock. Her thighs clenched a little around his hips and she bit her lower lip. If she thought his _moan_ was audio-sex worthy then _holy shit_. While she absolutely disliked the way her spirits called her that, there was something about the way Rogue said it... Maybe it was the way the two words left on a breath and maybe it was just _him_. Either way, she knew she was going to file that away for later.

Her hands went back to exploring his muscles, feeling over every scar and groove, every natural pull and every tense spot. She leaned down again, using more of her weight to massage a knot just below his right shoulder. Even if she was indulging herself without guilt- and even if she was enjoying teasing him- her original plan was this. A massage for him. He was too tense- and not just from what she was doing to him, either. As she slowly worked the knot out of his system, she noticed his breathing even out again.

 _Oh no_.

She smirked.

 _That wasn't going to fly_.

Once the knot was gone, and he seemed fully relaxed, she pressed herself against him. Even with her breasts against his upper back, he still seemed relaxed. Her brows pulled together and she thought over her options- her hands never stopping in the mean time. Her brown eyes were met with his bare shoulders and his neck and _oh there was that option_. Her hands traveled down his back, between their bodies, and found another knot near the base of his spine. She had to be careful around this one, since it was so close to his spine, but she was still going to have her fun.

Her lips descended on his shoulder and he froze.

Lucy knew- oh, she knew- how he could feel her smirk against his skin. She pulled back just enough to lick his flesh and she felt another shudder course through him. Again, she was still easily working out the knot in his back.

"You're such a little vixen," he said, his tone strained again.

She giggled and blew on the wet skin. "That's not how you're supposed to address me," she teased.

He caught on quickly and the _second_ she started to pull completely away from him, he rushed his apology out. "I'm sorry, my princess."

"Much better." Lucy licked her lips before bringing them back to his ear. "Now, I have a request."

The knot was finally gone when he shuddered again. "A-Anything you want, my princess."

She hummed in approval and sat back up on his ass, not missing the desperate whimper that left his throat. "I'm going to keep having fun with your back," to prove her point, she massaged a little harder around his ribs, "and while I have my fun, I want you to explain what being your mate means to you." Not that he could see it, but she shifted her hands away from his back to take care of... _Something_... before flinging that material behind her somewhere.

He nodded, agreeing with her request, and she was pressing her front against him again as she continued to give him the massage of the century.

The massage that had him straining against his boxers.

"As my mate, you become the center of my world. Everything I do, everything I say, everywhere I go... It will always be for you in some way, shape or form. You'll never leave my mind- like you haven't since our interview. My goal in life will be to protect you, to hold you, and to keep you happy- no matter what you ask of me, if it will make you happy, I'll do it."

Lucy felt her heart flutter in response to his words and she bit her lips. No. He wasn't supposed to be making her feel like this when he spoke. _She_ was supposed to make _him_ lose control of his words. She lowered her face to rest her nose in the crook of his neck, placing soft closed-mouth kisses there. He took a shaky inhale of breath and she placed another closed mouth kiss there in a small showing that he needed to continue.

"Your life will be connected to mine, just like your soul will be. You feel sadness, I feel sadness. You die, I die. Protecting you is my top priority not because I'm protecting myself but because you _are_ my life. You can use my maa-ahh," his words trailed off into a moan.

He was cut off. Not by her words, but by her actions.

She had bit down on his neck, lavishing the area with her tongue and sucking harshly on the area. He was shaking in his attempt to keep from pinning her down and ravaging her body, and he was certain she knew that. The light pain that came from how hard she bit coupled with how hard she was sucking made his spine tingle. He was damn near painfully hard and she was only making his struggle worse. _She_ was marking _him_ , and holy shit that thought stirred him on even more.

But, she pulled away with a pop. "Excuse you?"

"Y-Yes..?" he stuttered out.

"You're supposed to be telling me about what mating means, dear," she licked the bruised area. "I told you I would have my fun and you would tell me about it. Is that not what I said?"

"I-It is, my princess... I-I'm sorry..."

She peppered open mouthed kisses across his neck and shoulders. She then bit on his jawline and had him growling in pleasure as a response. "Don't apologize. Continue."

He never thought her bold enough to bite his jaw- or leave a hickey there. But, she was full of surprises. He could _smell_ her arousal, as well, and he was in _pain_. He was so hard it fucking _hurt_ but hot damn he wasn't about to tell her to stop. "U-Uh.. You can use my- _fuck-_ magic if you need to and it will come n-naturally... I-If you ever get hurt, I'll be able to- _haaa, shit.._ \- to know exactly where you are.."

All while he was talking, she had left a hickey not only on his jawline, but also made a line of them down his neck to his shoulder.

"So you'd do anything to keep me happy?" she asked, amusement in her voice.

"Yes, my princess," his answer was so immediate and solid it threw her for a loop.

Lucy pulled away from him, her hands still running up and down his back lightly. "Then," she lifted herself off of him but still straddled him one knee on either side of his hips, "roll over and look at me."

He was hesitant- she could see that- and she was correct in assuming that it had to do with his arousal. But, he didn't fight her and rolled over complacently. And the hiss that came from between his clenched teeth was music to her ears when she sat back down on it. His hard length pressed against the warmth of her core and he clamped his eyes shut, trying to find at least one shred of control to cling to.

"Ryos, look at me."

He lifted his hands to grab onto the mahogany headboard. Once his grip was tight enough to alleviate some of the attention his cock was demanding, he looked up at the woman teasing him so badly. Her eyes were lidded, the rich milk chocolate of her eyes were so darkened with lust that they nearly looked black, and he noticed in the time she was on his back, she had taken her bra off without removing her- well, _his-_ shirt.

How the fuck did she do that?!

Wide red eyes looked from where he could see her nipples through the white shirt to her face again. His jaw was slack and she seemed to take amusement in that.

Lucy used her fingers to travel up his chest- the same way she initially did his back- and those same fingers clasped onto his chin. She shifted his head to the side, obviously admiring the hickeys she had placed along the left side of his throat. "I have two more requests."

He nodded as she used her fingers holding his chin to force him to look back at her. He didn't trust his voice at all.

"The first," she said, "is you worship my body tonight." Her tone had dropped at the latter half of the sentence and the growl that came from his throat was desperate. He unintentionally bucked his hips up at the mere thought of being able to do as he wished... To leave her body writhing in pleasure from _his_ hands...

His mind went blank the moment that soft moan left her lips on a breath.

 _Holy shit._

"A-And the second?" He was barely able to keep himself back at this point. She somehow _knew_ that pinning and holding him down the way she did would turn him on more than anything. Whether intentional or not, the tone of voice she was taking with him only added to his aching arousal. She marked _him_ with hickeys and bite marks. She gave him the promise of doing what he wanted while still somehow managing to maintain control and dominance. And her _moan_ was something he would fight to the death to hear again.

He heard the wood in the headboard crack under the pressure of his grip.

She locked her eyes with his and his breathing stalled. "Mark me."

He couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't hold back.

Rogue sat up and flipped her on her back. _Worship her body_. Oh, his inner dragon roared in delight when he thought about that but now that it was actually going to happen, he knew without a doubt that he would never be able to control himself around her. Her brown eyes watched him like a hawk as he loomed over her and he _felt_ his magic licking at his skin. She should have looked away. She should have flinched in fear. Instead, she met his gaze with confidence.

"Do your worst, my dragon."

The growl that left his lips was feral, possessive, and far too aggressive for _anyone_ to consider it a sound of pleasure. He was aware of that. But when the scent of her arousal only got stronger... Well that threw him for a loop. He restrained himself a little to gaze into her eyes to force out a few more words. "It'll hurt you..."

"I know," she whispered in return, "Mira, Levy and Lisanna warned me. Levy's hurt the worst because it was iron, but yours... Yukino said Sting's-"

He growled and dipped his head to bite and suck at the tender flesh of her neck, forcing a rather haughty moan from to fall from her lips. "Don't talk about other dragon slayers right now," he warned as he pulled back from her neck for the slightest moment.

"I'm ready, Ryos."

He grabbed her hands, placing a kiss to each of her palms before slowly kissing his way up her left arm. Oh, hell yes he left two or three- _more like seven-_ hickeys in his wake. She whimpered and writhed beneath him as he paid that same attention to her right arm, this time only leaving three hickeys behind. Their lips locked together and their tongues met in a dance that felt ancient. There was no fight for dominance as Lucy and Rogue seemed to match one another so perfectly. Their teeth gnashed together only once after she bit on his lip again, which pulled a moan from them both.

"You've been testing me since you first wore my shirt, Lucy," he stated in a low tone.

With his hands playing with the hem of her shirt, he watched the blush on her cheeks become worse. Her thighs rubbed together and he felt a little sadistic when he forced them apart to sit himself between them. His nostrils flared and he groaned low in his throat. He attacked her neck again, his teeth biting the flesh there and his tongue laving and lapping at the area without mercy. After he was certain a bite mark- not _the_ mark, not that just yet- would be left behind, he kissed up to her ear to whisper to her.

"You smell delicious, my princess."

She groaned out in excitement and pleasure as his words seemed to shoot straight to her core. Stars, she knew she was wet- she could feel it on her thighs, for fuck's sake. But the carnal lust and hunger in his voice only seemed to make her wetter- if possible.

He pulled back from her, a wicked smirk lifting the corners of his mouth in a manner that, again, had her whimpering in anticipation of his actions. "You're going to be marked from head to toe, Lucy. I hope you're ready for that," he growled out, as his hands grabbed at the heel of her foot.

She winced, hoping like hell he didn't have a foot fetish and sighed in ease as his kisses and biting started at her left ankle instead of her foot. She wasn't about to make that remark to him, though. He left another trail of hickeys up both of her calves to her knees, where both times, he stopped. His hands went to his shirt on her and, as much as he enjoyed the view of her laying beneath him in _his_ shirt with no bra, it needed to come off. When he started lifting it up her person, she tried to sit up and help him, but his hands held her down.

His rough, calloused hands traveled firmly up her thighs, under her shirt without moving it much at all... He was going too slow for her liking, but she wasn't going to tell him to hurry. No matter how much she was _aching_ for him to speed up. The whimper that left her was almost inaudible. Those torturous hands slowly raked their way up her torso, over her stomach and she squirmed again. _So close_...

His hands stalled.

He smirked that wicked smirk again. "Did you want something?"

She glared weakly at him. Just as she took a breath to probably yell at him for stopping before he got to her breasts, he dove down and bit the area next to her nipple none too gently through the shirt. She arched her back, as though trying to force more of her mound into his mouth. The moan that left her mouth was loud, desperate, and stirred his inner beast. For a brief moment, as he lashed his tongue out to tease her left nipple through the cotton fabric, he had an epiphany. No one had ever pleased his inner beast as much as his dragon- or himself. That darkness that he feared within himself was sated by her noises, simultaneously calmed and roused by her body.

He moaned around her flesh as he sucked on her breast through the shirt, which drew a rather loud whine from her lips. "St-Stop teasing me!"

Lucy groaned in frustration when he pulled back.

"You told me to worship your body tonight, and I am." The smug tone of his voice was strained by his arousal and the genuine pain he felt for not dealing with it yet. But that could wait. "Besides. Your body is an altar," he mumbled, finally lifting her shirt up over her panties and near-flat stomach. His eyes widened at how damp her black silk panties looked and nearly lost it. But, he reined himself in again to keep going. "A temple," he continued, breathless, as it was lifted over her breasts. He licked his lips, his eyes gazing at her pert nipples on her supple flesh just _begging_ to be toyed with. "A holy relic.."

Finally, he allowed her to sit up long enough to pull the shirt off- despite her blushing. "I don't think- aAAH!"

Whatever she was about to say was drowned out when he gently bit her right nipple. He wasn't about to have her thinking any sort of negative thoughts now.

 _Or any thoughts_.

He sucked and licked and tortured her- pleasurably, of course- by leaving his marks all across her chest and breasts. She wasn't going to have a clear spot on her body when he was done. As his tongue made a slick path over her hickey-covered right breast down to her ribs, he groaned lightly at the shiver that wracked through her body. "A temple made of stardust."

He bit her ribs, sucking on the area.

Lucy whined loudly, wanting nothing more than for him to _hurry up_. No matter how much he was working her up and arousing the hell out of her, she was regretting her decision to tell him to worship her body. However... The words. His words had equal effect on her heart as they had on her body. Her heart fluttered wildly against her chest, the ache at her core throbbed dully, and... For once in her life... She felt truly beautiful. She felt confident. He wasn't giving her time- nor was he giving her the oxygen needed- to think any foul thoughts and that made her think more on his words than how she felt.

She felt like an actual princess. Like a _goddess_.

She shivered as his mouth moved across her torso, continuously littering her flesh with bruises, hickeys and bite marks alike. "An altar made for the cosmos in your veins."

Tears pricked her eyes and she didn't know what for. The beauty of his words, how truly amazing she felt for the first time... How he needed to _fucking hurry_... Or that he was taking the time to compare her to the most beautiful thing she knew of.

Her breathing picked up as he left her panty line in so many hickeys that it nearly looked like one long bruise rather than smaller hickeys. His calloused hands picked up her right leg, placing it on his shoulder as he left even more marks as he kissed and bit his way up her thigh in a way that left her near constantly shivering. "A holy relic dusted with the beauty of the nebula.."

Her breath hitched again. She wasn't about to nitpick at him and let him know the plural of nebula was _nebulae_. That would ruin the moment. Though, if she were honest with herself, she didn't know if her breath was caught over the fact that he lingered for what felt like an _eternity_ over her clothed, wet core or if it was caught over his words. Fuck him and his stupid way of making her heart flutter even during sex. She groaned in anguish, her body still shaking, as he lifted her left leg and placed it on his other shoulder to show it the same attention.

"The stars in your eyes... the moon dust in your lungs," he spoke softly between his kisses to her inner thigh. Finally those tears in her eyes fell. "You're the real ruler of the sky... No King can hold authority over someone so beautiful... So perfect... That she outshines the stars themselves."

Her hands went up to cover her eyes as she cried, a broad smile on her face.

 _Rogue was truly too good for this world_.

His tongue licked up her _soaked_ core and she moaned loudly for him in response. She heard him growl sensually and _rip_ her panties off- not that she cared at all. His nose was planted right above her core and she couldn't find the will to poke fun at how he seemed like a starved man at a buffet, indulging in the scent before devouring her whole. Because she knew, _she knew_ , he was about to do just that.

"You're perfect, gorgeous," he growled out. His tongue snaked up her _dripping_ core again and, once again, he was met with the _glorious_ sound of her loud moan. "You taste like the heavens," another lick, "you sound like a siren," another lick, "you smell like the universe.."

Her body bowed off the bed when his tongue made its way _inside_ of her, twisting and curling and lapping away at her sanity. He pressed his face closer to her core, his nose rubbing against her clit as his tongue worked its _magic_ inside of her. The moan that left her was damn near a needy yell, but he didn't seem to care. Her thighs clamped hard against his head and his hands snaked under her rear to hold onto her hips as he continued to eat her out and force more of those (now muffled by her powerful thighs) wonderful sounds from her.

Lucy was seeing stars. Her hands had abandoned their place at her eyes and were clutching at the sheets of his bed. The process was making her feel whorely- taking a ragged breath only to have his tongue move _so perfectly_ to cause another moan or yell to fall from her lips. She was panting, not able to get a proper breath in, and _why was she already about to cum_?!

He nuzzled his nose against her clitoris, his tongue thrusting in and out of her center causing more whorish noises to fall from her permanently parted lips. She sat up on her elbows to look down at him and the _fire_ and _ferocity_ found in those ruby eyes she fell so hard for had her shuddering. She could feel him smirk against her and watched as the shadows licking at his skin seemed to gather near his face and- oh. _Oh._

 _OH._

She felt something foreign yet welcomed enter her center alongside his tongue, applying pressure deeper inside of her. With his shadows working the same magic his tongue was and her clit being teased the way it was, she _swiftly_ unraveled. Her vision was blurry, tainted with white scattered splotches, and the primal _scream_ that threatened to tear her vocal cords probably would have caused Rogue's ears to bleed- if her thighs weren't squeezing his head.

" _RYOS!_ "

The shadow mage growled possessively, watching her diligently as she climaxed and her walls began clamping down on his tongue. Just imagining that tight feeling against his aching cock... Oh, he couldn't wait much longer. He _couldn't_. He was already hurting. Though, there was something even more arousing at the thought of possibly _dying_ between her legs.

He had seen her Lucy Kick in action against Natsu once before- how she managed to kick him _through_ a thick stone wall. He had seen pictures of her in Sorcerer Weekly where she and Erza were the only ones able to crush both a Watermelon and a _Lacrima_ with her thighs alone. He _knew_ she could kill him with her thighs if she wanted- and the pressure on his head only made that thought come back to his head. He pulled his shadows back to him, licking up her sweet essence and slowly working her through her climax.

And, when he sat up and pulled completely away from her core, he was _not_ expecting her hands to grip his shoulders and pull him down for a _very_ forceful kiss. Their tongues danced together once more and he heard her moan against his mouth, knowing she could taste herself on his mouth. And his cock throbbed painfully again. He growled louder and pulled away from her as he quickly rid himself of his pants and boxers.

She watched him unhindered and unabashedly, licking her lips when her chocolate eyes landed on his straining erection.

He smirked at her gaze. "See something you like?"

"I see something I _want_ ," she growled out, wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling him forcefully against her. The moment his cock slid against her slick entrance was like a temporary bliss to him. He panted, dropping his head to her shoulder.

"Stretch me, and hurry," she said, obviously eager.

While he wasn't going to deny her needs, he simply pulled back and smirked. "No need."

"Wha-"

"Did you really think my shadows were just pleasing you when they were inside of you?" He raised a brow at her. No, they were doing their job at stretching her because he knew he couldn't wait any longer.

She blushed at this but the way she bit her lower lip in anticipation made him groan and made his smirk return to his face.

"Show me what'cha got, then. Stop keeping me waiting," she demanded confidently.

He felt warmth bloom in his chest at her words. He got her to see that she was perfect just the way she was. He got her to be more confident. Hopefully- oh, man, he would _pray_ to the Celestial Spirit King if that's what it took- she would retain that confidence outside of their bedroom too. She deserved this- to feel like this. She saved the _entire fucking world_ and still got stronger even after that. She _deserved_ the confidence she felt currently.

"I'm one lucky bastard," he groaned as he slowly slipped his cock inside of her.

She moaned out and let her head drop back. "Yeah, you are," she panted out.

 _Yes_.

He gave her little time to get adjusted to him- not that she minded. Her moans were back almost the moment he started moving inside of her. "How did I manage to get a mate so perfect..?"

Her lidded eyes locked onto his and she watched in amusement as those shadows that seeped out of him seemed to cling to him. His hair grew wild, untamed, and his eyes... Oh, those _gorgeous_ eyes of his... They looked so kin to an actual dragon's eyes that it seemed unreal. The red coloring of his iris nearly took up his entire eye- leaving little room for the whites of his sclera. The slitted pupils were so thin she was almost concerned he wouldn't be able to see. But, with his eyes so large, she was able to see that his eyes weren't _just_ ruby red.

They were multi-dimensional, for lack of a better term. The ruby coloration held some burgundy, some browns, and even some gold there, too. She could feel her own magic seeping from her skin, but she didn't question it. She moaned louder when he lifted her left palm to his mouth to kiss the area again. His hips never stopped moving- never stopped thrusting- as he kissed up to the fleshy part of her wrist.

Her eyes went wide when she noticed his canines. The girls said their slayer's magic only affected the top two elongated teeth... But Rogue's? No. All _four_ of his canines- top and bottom- were black and the shadows that came from the teeth seemed like smoke. Without proper warning, he sank his teeth into the flesh of her wrist, causing a scream to _rip_ from her throat.

But there was no pain- no. The pleasure that came with the bite mark sent _ripples_ of pleasure through her system. She barely noticed when her magic lifted from her body like a golden smoke, only to mingle with the shadows on his skin. She was _so fucking close_ to coming again, so soon, all from this _soul tingling_ feeling that came with the way their magics were dancing together. A delightful shudder went down her spine at the feeling of his magic entering her system and she screamed in pleasure again, bowing off of the bed.

Rogue felt her walls fluttering around his cock and, through his hazy vision, he hardly noticed their magics mingling in the air around them. No, his vision was locked on the gorgeous blonde beneath him as she came undone for the second time that night. It seemed like there was no pain to his bite, and that confused him, but that confusion was _swiftly_ swept away when her walls clamped down on him so tightly. So very, very tightly.

It felt like her insides were literally _milking_ him of his climax. And who was he to deny her that?

" _RYOOS!_ " she screeched out for the second time that night.

Her scream wavered, her voice cutting in and out, and he growled lowly against the flesh of her wrist as he came inside of her. He thrust wildly, unleashed and unrestrained as he did so, trying so hard to extend both of their climaxes before he slowed to a stop.

Finally, the shadows that once covered his person dissipated and the magic seeping from the woman beneath him seemed to pull back as well. He pulled out of her and heard a whimper leave her throat in response. Rogue pulled his teeth from her wrist as well, peppering kisses over the mark he had left on her skin. She seemed exhausted, panting heavily and shuddering violently beneath him.

Maybe he pushed her body too far.

At that thought, a rather pathetic whimper left him. "Lucy...?"

She cracked a brown eye up at him, not aware of when exactly she closed them, and smiled weakly. "You're a damn beast, baby."

He chuckled at her words, but even his light laugh seemed sad. "Are you okay..? I didn't push you too far... Did I?"

She laughed weakly and shook her head. "Absolutely not. That was... _Amazing_."

He felt pride take over that insecurity and he carefully picked her up- smiling warmly as he noticed she was _covered_ in his hickeys. Without missing a step, he carried her off to the bathroom, noticing how dreary she was. "Come on, Lucy, you need to stay awake a little longer."

She cracked an eye open to see that they were in the bathroom already and she hummed contently. "Why..?"

"I need to clean you up," he responded simply, running the water for the bath tub.

She shook her head. "Why do I need to be awake for that though..?"

He laughed lightly at this. "You don't... But I'd _like_ you to be awake."

"But I'm so tiiired," she whined, giving him a puppy dog pout.

He sighed and shook his head. "Try and stay awake? If you fall asleep, I won't complain, but at least try..?"

"Mkay," she agreed, nuzzling against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her again.

He just barely sat her in the tub when a new scent was smelled in the house. The growl that ripped from his throat was primal, _too aggressive_ , and a clear threat to the life of whoever was in his house. They were _not_ getting _anywhere_ near his mate.

"Shhhh, baby," she cooed, grabbing his arm and tugging it gently. "That's Virgo, my spirit. A girl spirit," she cooed.

He visibly relaxed, though he was still tense. Female or not, _spirit_ or not, he wasn't ready for anyone to get around her.

"Virgo!" Lucy called out and his stiffened state worsened. "Please hurry before Rogue blows a fuse!"

"Yes Princess," she called back.

"Now get in this tub with me, you dork."

* * *

Sting woke up with a loud grumble, feeling the emptiness of the bed next to him. His initial reaction was a mild panic, wondering where Yukino had gone. Then, he heard her voice faintly in the house and that panic was soothed, though it was soon replaced with confusion. He _always_ woke up before she did. Clad in a pair of flannel pajama pants (with boxers under them) the guild master grumbled even louder when he left the bed.

"Sounds like Sting's finally awake," a male voice said.

The growl that resonated in the house was made to scare whoever it was that was in his house. Whatever _man_ was in his house. Well, in Yukino's house. But, he had asked her to move in with him days prior (at the guild when Lucy and Rogue left to go get the things on the shopping list), and when she denied him, he felt so disheartened. At least, until she said it would make more sense for him to move in with her. To which, his elation returned. So, as far as he was concerned, there was another man in _his_ house talking to _his_ mate.

After a pit stop to the bathroom, he was still grumbling as he entered the living room to see Rufus standing in the doorway.

"What're you doin' here?" he mumbled out sleepily, wrapping himself around Yukino to assert his mateship- not that he needed to around the memory mage. Instincts, though, told him he did.

"We have an... Issue... To be dealt with."

Yukino smiled when Sting's arms went around her and she shook her head. "This is kind of a big deal, Sting."

"What izzit?"

He was obviously still waking up and, unfortunately, Rufus's next words nearly woke him up completely. "There's a city-wide lacrima outage."

"What?!" he asked loudly.

The masked man nodded. "I woke this morning to two of my neighbors asking why their lacrima weren't working and when I attempted to use mine, they weren't working as well."

Sting made a move- probably to check the Lacrima Vision- but Yukino stopped him. There was a noise in the kitchen that alerted him to another person here as well, and with him being still half-asleep, he couldn't properly use his nose just yet. "I've already tried, honey, it doesn't work," she whispered to him.

The slayer growled slightly. "What the hell is happening?"

"I've no idea," Rufus offered. "I have, however, alerted Orga to leave for City Hall. Until this is resolved, we're having to run on electricity- which is helping keep most things working. Unfortunately, unless we figure out what is going on, we're going to have angry citizens at Sabertooth's doors."

Sting nodded, noting when Minerva came in from the kitchen with a piece of toast hanging from her mouth. When the bite was taken- and swallowed- she spoke up. "Couple of our neighbors said a massive wave of magical power knocked everything out of commission."

"Magic..?" Yukino asked.

The other woman nodded.

The celestial mage sighed and turned to Sting. "Go get dressed. Lucy has Crux contracted, so he can dig up information faster than we could look into it."

He nodded and left for the bedroom while the other three conversed about possibilities and he was back in the living room in less time than they thought. "Rogue can be a dick sometimes but he'll be useful to solve this shit before it gets out of hand," he grumbled out, though he soon blinked twice. "Where are Lector and Frosch, Rufus?"

The blond man spoken to opened the door for their group. "In the guild already. Dobengal is watching over them while I came to get you and our Shadow Dragon."

Sting nodded, accepting the answer, and the group of four took off from Yukino's house and left for Rogue's- it taking them less than five minutes to get to his driveway. However, before any of them could step onto the premises, two spirits made themselves known.

Leo and, surprisingly, Libra.

Yukino tilted her head. "Libra? Leo? What's going on?"

"I cannot allow you any further to the Princess," the lion spirit said in a voice that seemed to command too much authority.

And it seemed like a challenge to the Slayer present. "What the hell, man, that's my _partner's_ house!"

"I realize this, but to preserve the natural balance, we cannot allow you to step further," Libra stated, her eyes narrowing.

The celestial mage furrowed her brows. "There's an important matter we need to discuss, Libra, we need through!"

"No," Loke intervened. His fists glowed in preparation for a fight. "My Princess and that Dragon mated last night. We're all under strict orders to keep everyone away," the lion snarled out.

Sting blinked twice before pulling back and stomping his foot hard on the pavement. "That fucking moron! The eclipse is _tonight_ and he mates with her so fucking close to it?! Goddamnit!"

Minerva only smirked at the information, though. "Then we won't interrupt. Stand down, lion."

Loke narrowed his eyes at the woman but made no move to stand down. "I do not take orders from anyone other than My King and My Princess."

"Please?" Yukino asked gently and he wavered- eventually standing down to her plea. She sighed heavily and shook her head. "Then could you eventually let them know we have a lacrima outage-"

"That was caused by their mating," Libra answered, cutting the mage off.

Everyone's eyes went wide.

"WHAT?!" Sting shouted. "When Yukino and I mated, there was nothing like _this_!"

"We know," Leo said. "We're looking into why it happened right now, but be patient. Libra will let you know when we have answers."

* * *

"Big brother?" Lucy asked, looking at the communication lacrima in her hands. She didn't understand why it took _so fucking much_ of her magic to get the damn thing started- since it usually started up on its own for people without magic to use- and this was ridiculous.

The blond man on the screen smiled sadly at her. "You shouldn't call me that, Lucy..."

Her brows furrowed angrily. "No 'Blondie'? No 'hey little sis, long time no see'? What's got your boxers in a bundle?"

He smiled sadly at her. "I... I'm sorry..."

Lucy's breath caught in her throat at how sad he sounded. He was still barely awake from the looks of it, but she really just wanted to let him know what happened with her and Rogue. And instead, she catches him about to cry. While at first, she was confused, it clicked in her mind that he was apologizing for what Rogue told him and she shook her head with a smile. "I don't blame you at all, Big Brother, and you shouldn't feel bad."

A tear slipped down his cheek and he covered his eyes, his shoulders shaking with the force of his restrained sobs. "I hurt you, Lucy... I... I broke that promise..."

She felt herself tear up at the sight and her bottom lip quivered. "Big brother, please... Don't cry..."

He hiccuped and shook his head, holding his face in his hands when Mirajane took the lacrima from him. "We're all so sorry, Lucy... We didn't know..."

"I know you didn't, sis," she said softly, a sad smile on her lips. "I don't blame any of you and I don't want you all blaming yourselves."

"But Lucy-"

"No buts, Mira!" she said with a wink. "I love you guys and if you're sad, I'll be sad."

A deep laugh was heard in the background and Laxus was soon seen on screen again, his head resting on Mira's shoulder. "Alright... But you're still too forgiving, little sis."

"There's my brother!" she said happily.

"Lucy?" a new male voice said. She looked over to see Rogue stumbling tiredly into the kitchen and she smiled widely. "Who're you talking to?"

"My brother," she answered and beckoned him to come talk with her to them. "I was just about to tell them the news."

The Magnolia side of the call went silent before Mira excitedly whispered "the news?"

Once a tired Rogue was wrapped around her waist, his face in her neck, she nodded with a brilliant smile on her features. His face at her neck had pushed some of her hair back enough for the other side to see the hickeys on her neck. Mira had gasped loudly and Laxus's eyes were wide. "We mated last night!" Lucy exclaimed happily.

"Aaaa! Congratulations!" Mira squealed, causing Laxus and Rogue to flinch.

"It's too early for this, woman," Laxus mumbled, a pinky in his ear.

Lucy giggled and leaned closer to the screen. "And my mark is the prettiest~"

Mira crossed her arms. "I doubt that! Mine looks like _lightning_!"

The blonde lifted her left hand to show her wrist. Two puncture marks that looked akin to bruises were on the fleshy part, but that wasn't the extent of her mark at all. There were two more punctures on the top side of her wrist that had smoke-like wisps of shadows leaving from the marks, extending to her middle finger and all the way back to her elbow. The shadows were faint, looking like nothing more than a dark scar on her arm, but she knew it was more than that.

"Sis, that isn't a mark I've seen before..." Laxus said hesitantly.

"I know," Lucy said, smiling warmly at the mark. "That's also kind of why I called. Will you ask Levy to research into it for me? Oh! And have Freed call me? I need to talk with him about the Runes I'm supposed to teach Rufus to set up tonight."

A growl- a possessive one- left Rogue's throat at that remark. Lucys hands soon threaded through her sleepy mate's hair and calmed him down, though.

Mira smiled at the sight and nodded. "I'll have them both call you later. You two have fun first, okay?" she said with a wink.

Laxus groaned angrily. "I really don't need you pushing my sister to have an active sex life, Mira..."

She giggled deviously and winked at Lucy again. "We'll talk to you later!~"

"Love you guys!"

"Love you, too," came from both Fairy Tail mages before the line disconnected.

Rogue groaned and nuzzled closer to his mate, feeling more than ecstatic about the whole ordeal. She was his. She was finally his. No matter what her mark looked like, no matter what anyone said, they were finally connected in a way that had Rogue feeling all too happy in the moment. He heard her sigh but didn't have the mind to look up to see the smile settled on her face. He could hear it in that one little exhale.

"So," she said, leaning into his hold and making him _purr_ like a fucking cat, "I'm pretty sure you're gonna keep me holed up here for a while, huh?"

He nodded against her skin and ran his nose up and down her pulse point. She smelled so wonderful- even more wonderful than she did before they mated, if possible. The scent of him, permanently on her, made his heart do fucking acrobatics. "Mm gonna keep you here 's long 's you'll lemme," he mumbled out sleepily against her neck.

She giggled in response, running her hands over his arms at her waist. He was too cute this early. "Well, then, how about I make breakfast and we can decide what to do next?"

He growled against her skin, turning her around in his hold and lifting her up to place her on the table where the lacrima comm had been seconds before. Now, however, it was on the floor. "I know _exactly_ what I want for breakfast," he said, a smirk lighting up his otherwise tired features.

She bit her lower lip at his hooded eyes and felt her arousal start to pool in her gut. And, from the way his nostrils flared, she suspected he knew it, too. "Oh yeah? What do you want? Maybe I can make it for you~"

He growled and raked his hands up her sides and over his shirt that he had dressed her in after their bath last night. "I don't think you can _make_ what I want."

"Then what is it?" she asked breathlessly, daring him to say it with her eyes alone.

"You," he murmured. His lips roughly pressed against hers and they were soon having another heated make out session on the kitchen table.


	15. The True Feelings

_**Author's Note** : Hey hey! Guess who's back!_

 _I hope everyone is ready for an angsty chapter because that's just what this is. Nothing but heaps of angst._

 _The Eclipse and it's effects will be explained next chapter, by the way! I hope everyone had an amazing Halloween and nobody is too overwhelmed and ate too much candy! Hehe c;_

 _It just dawned on me the other day that I never did state what song was in chapter 13. That song with Like I'm Gonna Lose You by Meghan Trainor and John Legend. Ugh, I really should have thought about that and posted it last chapter or even on the chapter that the dang song was on, but nooo. It completely slipped my mind. We hit chapter 15 finally and the word count on this story is getting insane- but we're finally moving along nicely! Which is always a good thing to be honest, but that also means that major plot events are going to start taking place. One of which is, obviously, the Eclipse._

 _The next major thing is something hinted around before the first page break in this story. c; I hope you guys are ready for it! I also threw out a few ideas on what her mark means, too! Anyone wanna guess just how significant that is going to be later? VERY IMPORTANT._

 _If you don't like smut scenes but want to know what all that was about, then go back to the last chapter. The last two parts after the page breaks (not the first part, but the last two) will explain everything you need to know without you having to sit through the smut._

 _Anyway! Glad to be back and I hope everyone likes this chapter! (This also marks the 100,000 plus mark, which is hecking insane but okay then omg)_

 _Don't forget to review because your reviews make me happy and, honestly, give me life. qwq'_

* * *

 _ **The True Feelings**_

No one had seen so many of the Celestial Spirits this tense in eons. Now, however, they were tense and terrified. Leo was pacing back and forth in front of the King and the only three spirits missing from the meeting were Virgo, Capricorn and Gemini. Those three were in the Grand Library researching like crazy with Crux about what possibly could have spiked her magic (and his) to go off the charts like it did. During their mating process, unfortunately the Spirits knew when it was happening. They felt stronger than they had ever felt before, they felt more complete, and yet they felt a slight disturbance as well.

Even now, nobody really knew what that meant.

"We have found some information that could prove useful," Virgo said, popping back up in her place between Leo and Libra.

Everyone turned to the pink haired mage, nearly ignoring when Gemini and Capricorn appeared moments after she did. Not to mention that Crux was now stationed awkwardly between Leo and the King. No, all attention had been drawn to the pink haired woman.

"Well?" Aquarius said, raising a brow impatiently. "Are you gonna spill it or not?"

"I believe Grandfather Crux would be the best choice to explain it," she responded with a bow.

"It gets a little complicated," Capricorn said with a nod. "He would be best to begin."

And, the room went silent, their attention turning to the Southern Cross. He cleared his throat and continued. "There are a list of different things that could have caused the magic to expand the way that it did and, unfortunately, we will not know the true cause of it as these requirements were all met last night with our young Princess."

Sagittarius furrowed his brow. "So, you say that because there are multiple reasons this would have happened and they were all met, we will not know which one it was?"

"Yes, that is a possibility. Though, unfortunately, there is only one who would be able to tell us the definite answer.."

"Then that doesn't really help us! Piri Piri~" Gemini said in unison.

Again, the elderly spirit cleared his throat. "Yes, let me elaborate. The expansion of magic during the mating process is definite, though never to this extreme. To meet this magic expansion, one of the following requirements need to be met. The Mate being marked the day before, the day of, or the day after an eclipse."

"And the eclipse is tooooonight," Taurus mused.

Crux nodded and continued. "The Mate has the blessing of otherworldly royalty. In Lucy's case-"

"She has my blessing and has had it since she saved our Old Friend Leo," the Spirit King finished.

Again, the cross nodded. "It could be the result of completing the cycle of their generation of Dragon Slayers- being the last one to mark one's Mate when surrounded by subconscious pressure like that can cause a large emotional spark before the process. It could also be that he is the only dragon slayer with a mate that is stronger than he is. Our Princess is much stronger, magically, than the Shadow Dragon, which means his magic could be compensating."

"But," Libra interrupted, "is that not a good thing? Dragons, once upon a time, searched for one to balance them out in the mating process, which usually meant a stronger mate. Is this not correct?"

"It is," Crux answered dutifully. "Which, if this is the actual reason for the mating mark looking the way it does, it means that the other mates have incomplete marks."

Everyone was silent until Aries broke that silence. "Sorry for interrupting, but is that all of the possibilities?"

"No," the Southern Cross spoke with a shake of his cross-shaped head. "The next few reasons are simple ones, but significant ones nonetheless. The Dragon is a Shadow Magic user while she is a Celestial Wizard. The contrast in magic types could have had a reaction on her skin when the mark was placed. It could be the fact that she took on an Alpha's personality before she was marked and became truly happy with _herself_ when the mark was placed. This also means that she would be the only mate with an Alpha personality."

"Alpha?" Leo asked curiously, his brows furrowing in confusion. "Lucy has never had an Alpha personality..."

Aquarius snorted. "No, the squirt hasn't. She's been too much of a push-over who let people walk all over her-"

"Aquarius!" Capricorn shouted in a reprimanding manner.

The mermaid spirit only shrugged. "It's true and you know it."

The crab spirit nodded. "Unfortunately, it's true- ebi. Princess Lucy has never been assertive or dominant in any way.. And that stems from her abandonment issues, if I can voice my thoughts- ebi."

Virgo only giggled, placing a hand to her mouth which caused her chains to rattle. "You must not have heard what he said to her last night, then."

"We are! None of us did, you pervert!" Scorpio said loudly, not surprised about Virgo being the only spirit to have anything to do with the Princess last night.

The pink haired spirit plucked a piece of paper from her apron and looked down at it. "I did not watch anything, nor did I listen in, Sir Scorpio. Princess told me through her key when she woke up this morning before calling the lightning dragon."

"I guess that's what he told her?" the Son of Pisces asked about the paper she held, tilting his head.

"Is there anything we _shouldn't_ hear there?" the Mother of Pisces asked right after her son.

The maiden shook her head. "I wrote down exactly what he had said, leaving out anything like moans or what they were doing."

Loke groaned and face palmed. "You weren't supposed to mention that, then, Virgo..."

"My apologies, Big Brother... Shall I receive punishment for my blunder?"

"No," the Spirit King answered, his eyes narrowing. "However, if you do not hurry along with this, you will not be allowed to assist Our Princess for the next month."

Aquarius snorted. "You _that_ curious, King?"

"It affects her spirits, as with her being confident in her abilities means more of your magical shackles shall be removed," he answered, though every spirit present could see the curiosity almost literally seeping from him. Of course they were curious as well, since the ten spirits of the Zodiac she had contracted to her had been trying for years to boost her up... And since they couldn't, but this slayer did with a few words, they obviously wanted to know as well.

Virgo cleared her throat. "I shall quote this verbatim- as spoken by the Dragon Prince to Our Princess. And I quote;

 _You told me to worship your body tonight, and I am. Besides. Your body is an altar, a temple, a holy relic. A temple made of stardust. An altar made for the cosmos in your veins. A holy relic dusted with the beauty of the nebula. The stars in your eyes, the moon dust in your lungs... You're the real ruler of the sky... No King can hold authority over someone so beautiful, so perfect, that she outshines the stars themselves. You're perfect, gorgeous... You taste like the heavens, you sound like a siren, you smell like the universe. I love you._

End quote," she finished, folding the paper back up and sticking it back into her dress.

The silence was near deafening and, if the King _could_ blush, he would be. The words themselves were gorgeous alone though he, along with everyone present, knew they would have been near ineffective in any other situation. Though he could remember a few of them for years down the line- hopefully. His memory might not be the best, but... When and if the Princess helped him, he would be able to put some of those words to use.

"Well damn," Loke said- as he was the only spirit to recover so quickly and the only one not a blushing mess. "Stupid Dragon's almost as smooth as I used to be."

"Probably smoother than you ever were," Aquarius snarked back with a smirk.

Sagittarius saluted virtually nothing and smiled with pride- though a crimson blush was still coating his cheeks. "I approve of this young stallion even more now!"

This got another bout of laughter from most spirits present. Leave it to the centaur to make everyone laugh once again.

Crux cleared his throat and shook his head, feeling the need to hurry this meeting along. He wasn't a Zodiac member and felt entirely out of place. "There are three other possibilities and, unfortunately, these seem like the most likely causes." Silence, once again, fell over the meeting place and it gave everyone the push they needed to get over their embarrassment. "The first is the easiest to speak of, though that still doesn't mean it's easy to speak about. As I'm sure everyone remembers, it was the future version of this very young dragon that opened the Eclipse Gate in the manner he did. He has a beast within him under lock and key- that only Our Princess has helped fully chase and lock away. This beast within could have marked the Princess along with Rogue at the same time."

"So, if this is the reason," Gemi started.

"Then she is mated to two people?" Mini finished curiously.

The Southern Cross shook his head. "No. It means that the beast within him- the darkness that looms over him due to his magic- accepted the decision to make her his mate. For ones light and dark sides to come into agreement, it means... Well... Usually it means that his heart fell to darkness, but this could mean that Lucy means more to the dragon than we anticipated."

"If she was the one tooooo help fight his darkness, wooooouldn't it mean that it disagrees with this?" Taurus asked.

To which the silver-keyed spirit shrugged. "There is a lot I have no access to the knowledge of. This is one of those occasions."

Everyone nodded, thinking over his statement. Libra spoke up next. "And the second?"

Crux, once floating in a criss-crossed state, placed both of his feet on the ground. This action, not done frequently at all, caused the spirits to all tense. "The second reason could be her bloodline."

Aquarius felt her blood go cold. "You don't mean what I think you do..."

"What?" Virgo asked curiously. "What would that have to do with anything, if I may ask, Grandfather Crux?"

The King glanced down at the silver spirit and gave a hefty sigh. "It may violate contract privacy laws... But Our Princess has gone above those laws before. You may speak of it."

The Southern Cross nodded thankfully. "This reason ties into the third and final reason. You all remember the celestial mage of old- Anna." After receiving nods from every spirit present he cleared his throat yet again. He watched as Aquarius, Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Pisces all got forlorn looks to their five faces and looked away. "Anna Heartfilia was her name. She was the one who gave the plans and the blueprints for the Eclipse Gate to Zeref himself. Pisces, ruler of the water spirits. Capricorn, ruler of the earthen spirits. Sagittarius, ruler of the fire spirits. Aquarius, ruler of the wind spirits. They were all contracted to her."

A collective gasp came from the other eight spirits. Leo, who was the leader of the zodiac as a whole, felt his blood run cold. They had given up their elemental alignments after the Elemental War a little over three hundred years ago. That was when he was appointed leader of the Zodiac- having one leader as opposed to four made wars like that less likely. It was a sore spot to bring up for everyone present and it didn't look like the King was any more happy speaking about it than they were.

"It was Anna who spoke with the dragons to get the Slayers to pass off through the gate- which she opened on her own. Layla wasn't strong enough to open it on her own, but did anyway in order to complete the process. Anna was the one who started the Eclipse Effect and her death caused the leaders to begin fighting and, thus, lead to the war," the eldest spirit spake.

"So, if _We Are_ hearing this right," Scorpio started, "her direct connection with her ancestor lead to her mark being different?"

Crux nodded. "In a round about way. It would have to do more with her bloodline being responsible for the gate that causes the Eclipse Effect more than anything else."

"Okay, off the subject of that," Aquarius said, guilt lining her voice as she spoke, "what is the third reason?"

The cross shook his head. "Unfortunately, as stated, it ties in with that very reason. Anna Heartfilia had a total of ten keys contracted to her; Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces are four. Ursa Major and Corvus were the only two Silver Keys she had."

Cancer's scissors fell from his hands as his eyes widened. "So... S-So you mean she had _them_ contracted to her..?"

"Yes," the King said somberly. "She had _the four_ contracted to her. She, along with our Queen- Cassiopeia, had hand in the Eclipse Gate. Cassiopeia agreed fully with the plan and I protested vehemently... But that did nothing to stop Cassy," he said, his booming voice softening when he used her nickname.

The spirits were all silent again, taking in the information a little at a time. It was then that- finally- Libra spoke again. "So she had _the four_ contracted to her as well as Our Queen's blessings... That means nothing for the final reason."

"It means everything," the Mother of Pisces spoke. "With _the four_ contracted to her, she was able to help formulate the plan in the first place."

The Son of Pisces held out a hand to his mother, placing it gently on her shoulder. "We knew of her... Meaning... To _him_. It was no less that the Princess's meaning to the Shadow Dragon or Lady Yukino's meaning to the Holy Dragon."

With wide eyes everywhere, Aquarius was the next to speak. "The two broke celestial law in more than one way. More than just their relationship. With _his_ guidance, along with the other three, they were the ones who _created_ the blueprints for her to pass off."

"So it's a matter of history repeating itself, for lack of a better analogy?" Leo asked, his eyes hidden by his shades and no emotion on his face.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"Princess Luuuuuucy would never dooooo something like that!" Taurus said, standing on the defensive.

The King sighed and shook his head. "If I am to request her help this time... She will need to."

"I-I'm sorry to question your judgement, My King... But... Is this the best idea if that is the case? I-I'm sorry..." Aries asked before bowing in apology.

"It must be done this way -ebi." Cancer was covering his face with his palm, trying hard to keep his emotions from showing. "If anyone could help with what's about to happen... With the small window of time we have... It would be Princess Lucy -ebi."

"It would be wise not to forget the balance Lady Yukino brings, as well," Libra warned with narrow eyes.

A smile lifted the corners of the sea goat's mouth. "Yes. The four constellations have fallen empty for too long, as you said, My King... But I feel as though there's something you're not telling us."

The King shook his head. "The Eclipse is upon us. I will not speak of that until after the request has been made to our Princess and our Lady after the fact."

"That aside," Crux continued, his back now turned on the Zodiac spirits. " _He_ is the only spirit who knows the truth. With _him_ fallen, there is no way to tell the exact reason behind her mark. We can only hope that this does not end in disaster."

* * *

 _The Previous Day, In The Human World..._

With the Slayers and their Mates gone from the Fairy Tail guild, it seemed so much more dull than it usually did. Gajeel's singing, Natsu's shouts, Mira's bright smile... They were all almost immediately missed when they took off for Sabertooth. However, it gave everyone the necessary freedom to openly talk about their plans for the eclipse and exactly how they were going to be handling it. The Fairy Exceed were never allowed to go to the Slayers Nights and were currently sitting at the bar talking with Kinana. Happy had a loud mouth and would be talking about what secrets they spoke of to the entire guild, and the blue cat would get jealous of Panther Lily, Frosch, and Lector being able to go without him. If not for Happy, they would probably all be able to join.

With Mira absent, Kinana and Juvia took turns manning the bar without question or complaint- the two currently standing behind the bar together. The Thunder Legion all sat on the second floor at their usual table talking about the amount of runes Freed needed to set up that night. Gray sat at the bar next to Erza- who was sitting next to a hooded and masked 'Mystogan' (in case any officials came in for whatever reason). Cobra was sitting next to his unofficial Guild Master, though his eyes never left the purple haired woman on the other side of the bar. Jet and Droy sat at a table speaking with Alzack and Bisca (and Asuka).

Cana, Macao, Vijeeter, Max, Warren, and Wakaba all sat at a different table together talking about lord-knows-what. Gildarts was standing, leaning against the railing of the second story, next to the small Master Makarov. Mest, Laki and Nab were speaking near the request board and Reedus sat a ways away from everyone with an easel in front of him- no doubt painting the visual of the guild without the members at their meeting.

"You about ready to do this?" Gildarts asked, looking over at the Master with a cocked brow.

The short man nodded, looking over at Freed curiously. As soon as the green haired mage felt eyes on his back, he sat straighter and looked back to the master and nodded. At that very moment, Elfman walked through the doors with an unreadable expression on his face. The Strauss's return meant that the others were already on the train headed towards Jacaranda Town.

"Alright!" Master yelled, gathering the attention of everyone present. "Listen up! Freed here is about to go over everything for tonight!"

The rune mage nodded and stood, coming to stand on the other side of the mater- on the opposing side of Gildarts. "Right. We have five sets of Runes to set up tonight in preparation for tomorrow night rather than four, so things will be a little different than usual. Miss McGarden knows the Runes to write for Gajeel's end, which strains myself less. The best course of action after this will need Reedus's assistance."

"Oui?" the ginger picto-mage asked.

Freed locked eyes with the now-slim man. "I will give you the runes to write and you should make a copy of myself. Will that work to create the runes for Cobra?"

"Oui!" he agreed.

"Good," he said simply with a nod. "I, myself, will deal with Laxus's home, as well as Natsu's. Master Sting will be contacting us once more when our Slayers leave, so I will head to Natsu's house first. Gray, Erza, would you mind escorting me there?"

"Can do," Gray agreed. Erza, next to him, also gave her agreement in the form of a nod.

"Right. Afterward, I will take care of Laxus's abode. The only real worry we have will be set on Reedus's copy of me for Cobra's. Because these Runes are highly delicate and one wrong character can lead to a horrible downfall, I will be sending Bickslow and Evergreen with a copy of the runes to accompany you, Reedus."

"Oui."

"I will then leave to follow Miss Carla and Miss Marvel to their designated area tomorrow night to write the runes then. That should easily take care of our Slayers-"

"With one more thing," Master Makarov interrupted. "You will need to adjust these Runes so that their mates can freely enter and leave them at will."

"What!?" Elfman shouted in protest. "Why?!"

The short mad gave a curt nod to the hulk of a man protesting- as well as to the tension felt from all the others. "This is the first Eclipse in which any of the slayers have had their mates by their side. We don't know if they will be worse off without them there or not. I do not wish any harm to come of our beauties, so that is why I ask that they be there and be able to freely leave at the first sign of trouble."

"Understood," Freed agreed with a bow. "I will rewrite them now."

"But Master! They could-"

"Elfman," Evergreen scolded, interrupting the argument about to break out. "Do you trust your sisters?"

"Of course! What kind of a question is that?!"

"Then listen," she said loudly, crossing her arms under her bust. "They know their mates more than anyone else in this guild does. They will know when to leave if things get dangerous. They're in love but they're not stupid."

Elfman sighed heavily, biting his lower lip. He _really_ didn't like this, but that was to be expected with both of his sisters being put in danger. Even if it was only slight danger, it was still more than enough to make the man nervous. This was something he couldn't help them with, and that bothered him greatly.

"Master," Freed said softly, "am I released to rewrite what I have?"

"Wait," Makarov said.

The guild was still silent, unsure if they should protest his orders like Elfman did or not... But his addressing to the mage to wait caused even more tension to be felt in the _bones_ of every mage present. There was just something about the way that he said it... It was upsetting and terrifying all the same. "I'm calling for a guild meeting. Everyone needs to come forward to the bar."

"But Master," Juvia spoke up, a hand over her heart as she looked up at him from behind the bar, "Juvia does not think we should have one without-"

"Do not worry about them, dear Juvia," he soothed, watching her with understanding eyes. "This is a matter we need to speak of _now_."

Erza's brow furrowed as she eyed the small man. "Are you going to tell them when they return, then, Master?"

"No."

Mumbles broke out from the rest of the members as they warily came up to crowd around the bar- each of them staying away from the poison dragon slayer for his comfort. Though that didn't work at all. He was still incredibly tense at the amount of people getting so close to him and was easily getting a headache from the amount of thoughts running rampant through their minds. Kinana had placed a hand on his to soothe his worries, though, and he was able to relax a _little_ from the touch. Not much, but enough to make a little bit of a difference.

Hell, had she not been asked by Mira and Master to come in today, the two would be _nowhere near_ this guild.

"Should we leave, then?" Jellal- ehr, _Mystogan_ asked.

The small man shook his head. "You two should actually stay. I prefer it. For Kinana and Erza's sake."

"What-"

"Hush, now," Makarov said, glaring at the drunken woman who was close to interrupting him. As much as he loved Cana like a daughter, sometimes she could be a bit of a handful. He took a deep breath and calmed himself before deciding to speak. "This is of importance. Great importance. Our dragon slayers are hearing about this matter very soon tonight, which is why I feel... decent... about speaking about this issue without them here. I got a call from Sabertooth-"

"Is Lucy okay?!" Erza shouted, rising to stand with her eyes wide.

A small sigh left the man and he pinched the bridge of his nose. The redhead, now ashamed of her outburst, apologized with a bow and tensely sat back down. "As I said, I received a call from Sabertooth. I spoke with Orga, Rufus, Sting and Rogue about this... _topic_... And Rogue will be talking about it to our slayers tonight. I assume, hopefully, either he or Lucy will be talking about it to the women as well. To start, and get the good yet shocking news out of the way... Rogue and Lucy are mates."

Immediately, the guild began speaking in both hushed whispers and loud shouts. Some were happy about the news, some were angry, and some were even confused about it. Though, the loudest concern voiced had been by Gray.

"He's the one who killed her, though!" he had yelled, causing the guild to go silent.

Makarov nodded solemnly. "I understand your concern, Gray... However, it is not for us to decide. He and Lucy have been speaking since... Well... Around March two years ago."

"After the guild disbanded?" Erza asked, furrowing her brows. "How reckless of her, to meet up with him without proper protection."

"Point taken, Erza. Thank you for bringing up my second point here," Makarov said with a suddenly stern expression sitting on his face.

Then, to the sadness of everyone present, he began weaving the tale handed to him by Rogue. The tale of Lucy's childhood and the root of her initial problems all the way to the problems brought forth by various things that have happened in the past. The Infinity Clock had made Cobra flinch visibly and hide his face from everyone. The love she held for her spirits made everyone smile. Yet, those smiles were completely shattered the moment he told everyone of her sacrifice. How nobody bothered to ask her about it. How nobody noticed her sadness plaguing her even though they usually could tell with a single word. He spoke of the betrayal everyone gave her by loosely keeping in contact with one another but not with her.

He spoke of the broken promises they had left her with. He spoke of the letters she and Rogue wrote one another and how it took someone outside of the guild to help her. He spoke of her spirits again, and how Rogue had told him not even they could help her. With kind words- kinder words than they thought they deserved- he slowly filled each Fairy Tail member to the brim with guilt at how they had treated her. He diligently told everyone all the details he knew of and watched with an aching heart as everyone's faces fell one at a time.

"She blames not a single person but herself for keeping it locked up for so long," he finished, wiping a tear from his eye. "She has forgiven everyone here without an apology needed and once again carries the weight on her own. She doesn't need our pity or our remorse, she needs our support. The support we haven't given her when she needed it most. And, Gray, I believe thanks are in order to give to Rogue for helping our Light."

At that moment, a guild member that had not made an appearance on his own in a long while had done just that. Loke stood in his tux on the second floor, his eyes sweeping over everyone present, though his eyes landed on Gray. "You all know well how I feel about My Princess," he started, watching with mild amusement as gasps were heard from those who had not _seen_ him make his appearance. "If there was something I could have done, you all know I would have. It was Rogue who had to make that difference, though. If I couldn't do it and Rogue could, no hard feelings should befall him, right?"

The ice-make wizard nodded. His teeth were clenched and he was desperately trying to hide the tears falling from his eyes.

And, without further hesitation, Loke gave the same spiel to these wizards as he would later give the dragon slayers- something Master didn't even know.

Makarov, with fresh tears in his eyes once more, nodded at the spirit and inhaled shakily. He needed to wrap things up before he lost composure in front of his children. "With that, I'll leave you all with this... She still loves each and every one of you, as do I. We have messed up, but we have time to redeem ourselves."

The Master then took off for his own office at that point.

Had it been anyone else in the guild, he wouldn't have done what he just did... But everyone loved and adored Lucy to pieces- to the point where Mavis even suggested the blonde woman as a candidate for Master position when he did retire. It was nothing more than a suggestion, but it was one that made sense with how everyone looked to her and respected her.. She was a light. She was the one who brought smiles to everyone's faces, no matter their day.

And he felt no better than the loudly bawling Happy did in the moment. Especially not with Loke's words.

* * *

Gray was barely able to make it home with Juvia that night. Barely. He was distraught, he was aching... But most of all, he felt like the worst man to ever walk the Earth. As soon as he had shut the door to his home, he had fallen to his knees with his shoulders shaking. Juvia was soon at his side, a comforting hand at his back as she held him in her arms. He cried openly, loudly, as the horrid feelings washed over him.

He hadn't visited her once since the guild was brought back together by the blonde. He hadn't spent a lick of time with her one-on-one as they used to every Tuesday they could at their hole-in-the-wall cafe. She once considered him a big brother, like Laxus, but now? Now he was certain she wouldn't spare him a side glance.

He had ignored her, trying to prove to Juvia she had nothing to worry about. He hadn't taken the time to spend with her to see that there was anything wrong. And, in his ignorance, he had ignored her in the one moment she needed someone to be there for her the most. The guilt he felt was eating away at his gut, at his heart, and his loud wailing sobs echoed the pain he felt in his soul. The agony at knowing he was probably the worst teammate anyone could ask for. His hands clutched at the fabric of Juvia's dress as he cried on her shoulder, trying to cling to _something_ to alleviate at least a _little bit_ of the horrid feelings flowing through him in that moment.

His sister needed him.

His sister _saved_ him.

She brought them back together. She paid for the guild to be rebuilt almost alone. She never bothered him when he almost literally _ignored_ her for his girlfriend.

Lucy had never once brought up her feelings like she used to.

He ignored her on her birthday, on the anniversary of each of her parents' deaths, and he didn't even spare her the time of day when she left to go visit their graves. He was just now noticing this, too, which only made his wails even louder.

He didn't deserve to be called her big brother.

He didn't deserve a friend he treated so horribly.

And Juvia wasn't feeling any better than Gray was. If it hadn't have been for Lucy's suggestion once the announcement of the guild's disbandment, she and Gray would have never lived together. Never gotten together. Lucy was the reason she was as confident as she was nowadays, and Juvia felt like she took it all for granted. There were many nights were she and Lucy would have girls night in the saunas together, many nights where she would call the blonde at two in the morning to rant and talk about what was on her mind...

Yet the blonde never turned her away.

She told Lucy about how she was trying to get Gray to visit her... She told Lucy about everything that happened in her life and Lucy was always there to support it.

Yet the blue haired woman never once noticed that Lucy wasn't ever talking about herself.

Never once.

She always listened. Always gave advice. Always supported Juvia.

But never 'burdened' the water mage.

Her own tears fell with the sudden rainfall over Magnolia as she held Gray tightly. She didn't try and soothe him the way she usually did- with kind words and hushed singing. She felt just as bad as her boyfriend did and she knew. She knew. Neither of them would ever truly be able to look at this in a lighter manner. No matter how much they hurt together, no matter how much they wanted to make the other feel better...

They were both grieving.

They both felt like shit.

* * *

Erza Scarlet punched a hole into the wall of her kitchen, the tears falling from both of her eyes so freely. She didn't pay attention to Jellal's hands on her shoulders, nor did she pay attention to the damage she had done and would need to pay for later. She paid no mind to the rain falling outside, nor did she pay mind to the way the blue haired man soon wrapped his arms around her.

Lucy was supposed to be her sister.

Memories flashed into the redhead's mind. Their first mission. Galuna Island. The S-Class Trials. The Grand Magic Games.

Everything that had happened with Lucy at her side came into mind and it only made her heart ache even worse.

Lucy had given Erza the push she needed to talk to Jellal about a possible arrangement to be made with their feelings. She _visited_ the blonde at least twice a month- though she aimed for more- and didn't notice her hurting heart. Her pain. She fought alongside her comrades in the Tartaros War and still didn't notice her feelings of hurt. Yet what hurt worse... What hurt the absolute worst...

Was that _Erza_ was the one who drove Lucy away from talking to Fairy Tail about it.

On their team mission, it was _her_ who spoke to Lucy so harshly about Aquarius. On their team mission, _she_ was the one who ignored Lucy's cries of confidence. On their team mission, _she_ was the one who pushed Lucy further away from their family than the others. Erza felt the weight of the world falling onto her shoulders as she sobbed, turning to bury her face against Jellal's shoulder.

She didn't even notice her negative feelings on their escort mission. Not once did she notice any terrible feelings. Not once did the redhead even think about talking to the blonde about anything going on other than mission-talk and updates on the Jellal situation.

Not once.

She cried out in agony, her fingers clutching all too tightly at his shirt. "I-It's... It's all my fault!" she wailed out, only to be held tighter by the blue haired man.

"It's not your fault, Erza... It's not..."

"It is!" she shouted, pulling away from him as though he just burned her. "It's my fault she ran from us even more! It's... It's me..."

"Erza..." He stepped forward cautiously, biting his lower lip as he thought of what to do.

"It was me," she sobbed out. Her arms wrapped around her midsection like she was holding herself. "I yelled at her... I screamed at her... To u-use Aquarius in our last t-team mission... I... I screamed at her that she needed to use her... I was the one..."

Jellal pulled her into his arms, running one hand through her hair and rubbing her back with the other. "You didn't know."

"I should have!" Erza shook violently with the force of her cries in his arms. "I should have known Loke's lie when he said it! I should have... I..."

"Shhhh... She doesn't blame you for anything, Erza."

"S-Still... I-... I was supposed to be... Her sister..."

The redhead's hiccuping sobs drown out whatever whispers he was speaking to her ear. He had to sit and hold her, sit and watch, as guilt and pain and suffering seemed to eat away at the woman he loved.

But, unfortunately, he felt bad as well. Not to her extent, but the terrible feelings were still there.

* * *

Evergreen's cries were muffled by Elfman's shoulder. The two were cuddled up together in Bickslow's apartment, where the entirety of the Thunder Legion (and Elfman) were currently sitting. The Strauss male was holding the woman gently, trying to hold back tears of his own to no avail.

Bickslow sat at his dining room table, his own tears falling into his coffee- not that he cared. It had gone cold well over thirty minutes ago.

Freed was still at the window that he would have been looking out of... But the drapes were still drawn. His hand was over his eyes.

Lucy had wormed her way into their lives with ease- too much ease, if they were all being honest. She was the first to forgive them of their sins when they followed Laxus without hesitation during Fantasia. She was the one who helped them stay together as a team throughout Laxus's exile. She was the one they went to to relieve stress and talk about things that didn't matter to anyone else.

The one thing that Elfman made known to the entire world was that Lucy was the main reason for Lisanna's return. That might not have been her initial intention, but without Lucy being sent to Edolas like she was, there was no way his younger sister would have come back. It hurt to know this, but he respected and cared for Lucy nearly as much as he did his own sisters. He could never thank her enough for what she did for him- for Mira... For their family...

Yet the one opportunity he had to thank her... To help her in the way she helped him..

It was gone. Stolen out from under his feet.

And that hurt more than he cared to admit.

She and Evergreen had easily- and quickly- formed a bond over fashion, shopping, and gossip. Of course, they both talked about so much more than just those three subjects, but those three were the ones that initially brought their bond upon them. They talked so freely about being the 'easily captured ones' on their respective teams, they talked so easily about their magic, and more than that, they talked so genuinely about their feelings. Ever was the first one- outside of Levy- who knew that Natsu was nothing more than a brother to her.

Ever was the first one- outside of Levy- to know that she had given Erza the push Titania needed.

Ever was the first one- _including_ Levy this time- to know that she was hurting about Gray's ignoring of her.

Lucy was the first one to know about Ever's relationship with Elfman becoming official.

Lucy was the first one to know about every single inside joke she and Bickslow carried together.

The brunette fairy knew the trust they had in each other ran deep and as much as she wanted to be betrayed by Lucy not speaking to her about this... Well... She just couldn't. She knew that Lucy was not to blame for anything like that. She knew that Lucy was just trying to protect herself.

And Evergreen felt so guilty that she never even tried to see Lucy's side of things.

Oh, did she feel guilty.

And it wasn't like Bickslow or Freed were any better.

Bickslow didn't need any form of explanation as to what Lucy's spirits meant to her. No, the two had talked in the past for hours on end about their similar magics. They had pulled all nighters running on nothing but coffee and cookies just talking about souls and spirits and their goals in life. Bickslow knew better than anyone else in the guild what _exactly_ her spirits meant to her. But, more than that, he knew the pain of having to sacrifice one must have tore her apart.

And he was ashamed.

He was sickened.

He was disgusted with himself for the first time in many years that he hadn't noticed those signs. That he hadn't noticed her broken soul. That he hadn't seen the missing key when, otherwise, he could tell in a heartbeat when she left a key at home. Lucy had helped him so much- she helped him be confident in _himself_ for once, instead of just being confident in the team he was a part of. She helped him see just how much his magic meant to him. She helped him open up so much.

Yet he wasn't there to help her.

He wasn't there to return the favor.

And he was nauseous. He wasn't certain if it was because he was truly disgusted in himself once more... If it was because he felt downright horrid for her having to _sacrifice_ one of her most beloved partners of all time for the sake of people who didn't even notice... Or if it was because of how much he was crying.

But Freed? Freed had to be taking this news the worst of all. Worse than the other two members of his team.

Freed was the one there when Lucy had first made the decision to proclaim Laxus as her 'big brother'. He was there when she didn't think herself strong enough to go on a mission with them before the war. He could clearly remember that the only ones to visit them in the infirmary when they had all inhaled the bane particles were Mira, Elfman, and _Lucy_. He could clearly remember feigning sleep to feel her caress, to watch her look over each of their team, to hear her talk to each of them in hopes they woke up.

He remembered the pain he went through from being a member of Blue Pegasus and being 'unable' to contact her.

He remembered the pain he went through when he realized that he possibly- no, when he _knew_ that he undoubtedly- loved her.

She took interest in his magic. In _him_. She was learning from _him_ about his magic and was picking up on it quickly. She had apparently tried to fight being at Sabertooth to help him with the eclipse... To be by his side. And that made him feel better than he wanted to admit.

But to know that she had smiled at him all this time...

That she laughed with him...

Interested him...

Read with him... Read _TO_ him... Had him read to her...

All this time, she was aching. She was hurting. Every time he asked her about her magic, he was probably opening up wounds that were trying to heal. And that pained him more than he wanted to admit. That knowledge pained him _more_ than the fact that she was out of his reach. Destined to forever be outside of his grasp. To know that she loved another man- another person- hurt _less_ than the (correct) assumption that he hurt her with his curiosity. To know that he had hurt her with the curiosity that she never once shied away from... That tore him to shreds.

He saw her as an unofficial member of their team, just as the other two did.

But more than that, he loved her for who she was. For how radiant she was.

Not only the guilt at not seeing her pain... Freed also dealt with the pain of her loving another person. Being fated to never return his feelings- no matter if he ever planned on telling her or not. His love was ripped away from him and there was her pain on his hands as well.

For the first time ever, right in front of his team, he fell to his knees and openly- and loudly- wept.

* * *

Cana Alberona was known for one thing; her absurd drinking habit. She was known by few as the daughter of the infamous (or famous, depending on the stories you've heard) Gildarts Clive, and known by even fewer as a bad ass card mage that had made the S-Class trials four times in a row. And, with a heavy heart, she was sitting in her father's lap openly weeping on his shoulder. His hands were rubbing her back gently, holding her to his chest. He had missed out on many years to be her father and even when he formally entered her life as such a figure, she still never came to him for consoling or to talk about what was bothering her.

But the talk at the guild made that change.

Gildarts knew little _about_ the Celestial Mage, but the few times they were able to talk it had been nothing but pleasant. She had lit up his day and- surprisingly- he saw her as his own adopted daughter. And she knew this. With how close she and Cana were, he had accepted her into his pseudo-family in an instant with arms open wide. Especially when he was told that it was Lucy who not only teamed up with Cana for that last S-Class trial but also convinced the card mage to finally tell him about their relationship. The few times he and the blonde woman had interacted, he had addressed her as his daughter and she addressed him as her adoptive father.

And it never failed to bring a smile to his face.

But to know that his daughter- or rather, _daughters_ \- were hurting so badly... It put a damper on whatever pleasant thoughts he might have had.

"Sh-She... She always seemed so happy..." Cana cried out against his shoulder.

He rocked her back and forth like she were an infant and she would have screamed at him about that.

But she was hurting too much to raise her voice.

Lucy had done so much for Cana, and Cana for Lucy. They drank together outside of the bar and she trained the blonde to be the closest person to be able to stand their own against her (and, by extension, Bacchus). She promised the blonde to never bring up drinking with her unless it was for a party at Fairy Tail and they both respected that promise. The blonde woman was the sole reason Cana had the guts to talk to Gildarts about what he actually was to her. They had several baths together, several sleep-overs, and several nightclub visits. Hell, they even went on a couple of missions together.

Lucy was, honestly, Cana's all time best friend. Mirajane and Erza were closely tied for second, but... They weren't Lucy.

The blonde woman was a beacon of light that helped everyone in the guild in some way, shape, or form at some point in time or another.

While Cana knew that others were hurting, she was selfish again and only wanted to feel her own pain. She didn't want to talk to anyone else about it because hearing what she had done for someone else would only hurt both of the mages who spoke about their respective sides more.

Like everyone else, the brunette woman held on to the guilt she felt. She held onto it tightly.

The conversations they had about how her spirits were doing...

Cana never noticed that she never mentioned Aquarius.

Never noticed it.

The brunette figured it was because of the 'bad blood' between she and the spirit... But it wasn't...

It was something else entirely.

Lucy had willingly sacrificed the last thing- other than Cancer- connecting her to her mother to save her life. To save everyone's life. To save the fucking world, for Mavis's sake! And nobody paid her any mind. They were all alive. They were all here. They were breathing thanks to their blonde wizard- and her alone.

If it hadn't have been for her, they wouldn't be alive. That's something everyone could acknowledge without fail.

That's at least one thing bearing down on _everyone's_ minds.

But it was so much more than that for Cana.

Cana had accompanied Lucy to her parents' graves. She had gone to the old konzern with Lucy, she had heard the many good- and bad- stories she had to share. She listened to just how much she cried and missed her mother. She had seen the letters the blonde wrote to her mother near nightly.

The brunette _knew_ what Aquarius meant to Lucy and still allowed bad blood to run between her and her best friend's spirit.

And then...

Didn't pay any mind to her when the spirit was gone.

Cana cried harder, Gildarts' shoulder nearly completely soaked with nothing more than her tears. "I-I'm... I'm such a h-horrible friend! Dad, I... I ignored her!"

"Shh... It's going to be okay... You know Lucy doesn't blame you..."

"B-But!"

"It's okay, Cana... It'll be okay.."

The brunette pulled away from her father and looked him in the eyes. "She's been there for everyone! _Everyone_! It wasn't okay for her for _two years_! Why... Why would it be okay for us any sooner..?"

He sighed and pulled her against his chest again, rocking her once more. "That's how Lucy is, dear. She's too forgiving like that.."

* * *

 _Current Time: The Morning Before The Eclipse_

"Freed? Man, you okay?" Laxus asked, stepping into his best friend's house carefully.

The dragon slayer meandered throughout the house curiously, watching as everything around him went from pristine and cleaned almost to compulsion to... Chaos. Picture frames were flung and shattered, furniture was tipped over, there were at _least_ three bottles of wine (all probably near full- if not completely full) broken and shattered on the white carpet. His steps grew wide and cautious as he continued further.

Then he heard it.

The crying.

It was faint, almost nonexistent- to the point where even _he_ had to strain to hear it. But it was there. The scent of tears was faint, nearly completely masked by the scent of the spilled and staining wine. The sound of broken breaths and light sniffling was heartbreaking. As Laxus walked carefully- stepping over the broken glass lying about- and opened the door to the rune mage's personal office/library, he froze at the sight.

Freed was sitting atop his broken wooden desk, the bookshelves so meticulously up-kept knocked over and books were haphazardly strung everywhere. The desk was split in two and yet Freed found a place to be able to sit upon it. The books looked like some of their spines were broken- something the rune mage would _never_ do when in the right state of mind. The bookshelves that once contained these books looked to still be in-tact but were toppled over haphazardly. There were three or four quills lying around, at least one spilled container of ink, and Laxus could see three light pens that looked as though they had been snapped in half.

As soon as Laxus was able to recover from the sight, he stepped into the room. "I knew you'd take it hard," he whispered out, "but there's something else to this, isn't there..."

"Don't worry about it," Freed spat harshly. "Nobody worried about her so why should anyone worry about me."

The blond man flinched at the statement but took a step closer to the rune mage nonetheless. "Come on, man... It's nobody's fault."

"It's mine," the long haired mage whispered painfully. "I was teaching her... I was there with her at least three times a week... I should have seen it, Laxus..."

"We all should have," he consoled, trying to find some way to reach the broken man's heart, "trust me. Beating yourself up isn't going to make anything better."

Turquoise eyes rolled. "Like it would make anything worse, either."

"It would." The slayer's words were final, authoritative, and not to be questioned. "You know she would hate herself if she knew you were beating yourself up like this."

A huff of a laugh laced with disbelief left Freed. "Would it matter in the long run?"

"Man, do you really want to make her cry over you?"

At that, he froze. His hands reached up to cover his eyes as he tried so hard to hold back his tears again. "N-Never... I... I love her, Laxus..."

Stormy, gray-blue eyes widened and a strong jaw comically fell at the admission. Then, he thought back to Rogue's statement and he sighed heavily. "Oh shit..."

And those two words only seemed to make Freed cry harder. Consoling people was _not_ something he was good at in the least bit and with a matter as delicate as this? You might as well consider Laxus a lost puppy. But, one of his best friends was hurting horribly. Little Sister or not, in pain or not, Laxus didn't know how to handle _Freed_ like this. Nor did he know how to handle the admission of love. Something like this was the last thing he had ever thought of hearing about.

There was a near deafening silence that fell over the two mages at that point. The only real sounds were coming from Freed's sniffling and hiccuping as well as the movements of Laxus's clothes as he uncomfortably shifted from side to side. He had no idea how to handle this at all and he wished Evergreen or Lucy or Mira- shit, _anyone_ \- were here to help instead. If he told Freed that Lucy might have loved him as well, it would only hurt worse knowing that she was fated to be a dragon slayer's mate. If he said she wouldn't love him, then that shit would sting worse than salt in an open wound. So, instead, he sat there silently while his friend cried it out. If anything, he hoped that his presence would offer some form of comfort.

When the green haired man calmed down quite a bit, Laxus took his opportunity to speak. "Um.. She wanted to talk to you today but.. I'll call her for you instead."

"What did she want?" he asked dully. Freed's tone was almost monotonous.

The lighting dragon ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "The runes to set up for Sting and Rogue. This is the first time those two will be around their guild during the Eclipse and need them put up as well."

The green haired man nodded like his body was on auto-pilot. It broke Laxus's heart to see, in all honesty. "I'll call her after... After I clean up then."

"I can help you, if you want," the blond offered.

And, as expected, Freed shook his head. "I did it, I'll clean it."

"...If you're sure..." Laxus said softly. He hated, more than anything, seeing his friend like this. Freed had never gone off the deep end like this- not even when his dark side was acting up and getting the better of him. It worried the larger man greatly.

" _HEY! THUNDER ASS! GET Y'ER ASS ON THIS COMM NOW_!"

Freed looked to Laxus with wide eyes and the blond man seemed to mirror the expression for a moment before removing his communication lacrima from his pocket to show an annoyed looking Orga Nanagear on the line. "..What the hell are _you_ calling for?!"

" _Don't give me that shit, we got an issue_."

"Look, man, I'd like to help but I'm kind of dealing with something of my own," he growled out, narrowing his eyes at the God Slayer.

To which he got a dramatic rolling of eyes. " _We got a city-wide lacrima outage. I'm working my ass off at City Hall helpin' with th' electricity issue here and I need ya t' do me a favor._ "

The blond only raised a brow. "What the hell are you talking about? Lucy called me earlier- and you're calling me now! Dumbass. It isn't city-wide."

" _No, trust me, it is. We got Sabers going 'round town reactivatin' these damn things but_ holy shit _it's takin' a lot of magic to do. If she called you she must'a put some serious magic to her lacrima,_ " the God Slayer commented with a shake of his head. " _Trust me, took me a fuck ton to get mine workin' enough t' call ya._ "

"What do you mean? Do you have any idea what happened to cause it?" the dragon slayer asked curiously.

Only to be met with the shake of a head. " _Ain't certain. Mini says there was a magic surge that pushed the remainin' magic from the lacrima, but I ain't got confirmation on that yet. All I really know is that it's takin' way too damn much magic to restart these shits._ "

Freed stood and walked over, intently listening in on the conversation- not that Laxus cared.

"Okay, so what the hell do you want?"

" _I need ya t' call Rufus_ ," he said exasperatedly.

And Freed was the one to speak up this time. "Why?"

" _...Who th- wait, shit, is that fuckin... Uh... Freebird?_ "

Laxus barked a laugh at that. " _Freed_. His name is Freed. But yes, it is."

" _Okay, so look Freed, I ain't got a damn lick of a clue as t' what's goin' on but the gist of the matter is Shortstack, Blondie, Lucy, whatever ya wanna call her.. She's been through some shit and is cooped the hell up tryina get over it. Rogue won't let anyone near the house apparently, so 'm not sure if she's still upset or not. But someone needs t' tell Sir-Remembers-Everything bout what shit to do and set up for Sting tonight or else this lacrima outage is the last of our worries._ "

Freed gave a sigh and crossed his arms. "Alright. I'll speak with Rufus about it. Is there anything else you need help with? We can send over help if you need it."

" _Nah, but thanks for tha offer- I GET IT, GIVE ME A SECOND I GOTTA LET THESE NERDS KNOW ABOUT TONIGHT!_ " Orga's face left the screen for a second and they saw a blast of black lightning before he returned. " _Damn these generators. They ain't doin shit. Anyway, 'm pretty sure Saber's got it covered. Unless Sting says otherwise, I really can't say we need the help._ "

Laxus chuckled loudly and shook his head. "Get back to work, you lazy ass oaf."

" _Fuck off, Thunder Dick._ "

"No can do, Lightning Twat."

" _I'll see ya on Poker Night._ " Orga signed off with a smirk and a wave.

With the Lacrima Comm now silent, Laxus sighed. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched as Freed looked around the room as thought to survey the damage he dealt in his hissy fit. A small sigh left the smaller man and it was only then that he took more time to do what looked like find some resolve.

It wasn't the end of the world, nor would it ever be the end of the world. Lucy stopped that herself. No matter how much Freed didn't like it- didn't _want_ it to be true- he had to accept it. Her happiness was worth more than his own feelings that, in all honesty, he never thought about telling her about. No. She ran away from her house and flung herself into a team of weirdos and hotheads- a team of people who did more damage per mission than most other mages collectively did in their lives. She wanted away from her old life, and he stood for everything that she ran from.

As soon as he realized that, he wondered briefly how he could even bear to be around him. However badly that thought hurt him, he wasn't about to take what time she did spare him for granted. Her happiness was the only thing that mattered. Well, that and her forgiveness.

The blond slayer finally turned to his green haired friend and bit his lower lip. "Are you sure you're okay cleaning this yourself?"

Freed was silent for a moment and shook his head. "Not really. But I really don't want to explain my outburst to anyone else.."

"I can call Mira over to help if you want," he offered as he shoved his comm back in his pocket. "If I tell her not to press it, she won't."

The rune mage's arms wrapped around his waist, holding himself tightly. "Right. Do what you must. I just... I need to be happy for her... And.. I need a long shower to collect myself..."

"Okay, you go do that and I'll get Mira."


	16. The Eclipse

_**Author's Note** : Hey!_

 _I was honestly debating on posting this chapter today or not, but in the long run, I decided to do that. The reviews are doing that thing where they are THERE but I can't see them. However, I discovered that I'm emailed all of the reviews made on this story and, thus, feel better about posting this today! At least I know what you all are reviewing in some way. Augh. I hate it when this site does that- but, like I said, at least they email me the reviews. T:_

 _To the **Guest** who asked about seeing the slayers' feelings on the Lucy Issue more than they have already - that comes at a later date. Trust me, I've got everyone covered in some form. c;_

 _To **swallowmysoul** ; I briefly mentioned in the last chapter that Cobra and Kinana wouldn't be near Fairy Tail had it not been for Mira and Makarov asking Kinana instead of him. He holds resentment towards them, but that will, also, be touched on later. You're not dumb, dear. c: Here is the Eclipse from everyone but Cobra's point- his will be touched on next chapter, and in the chapter after that, we'll see more of the Spirits. I hope you don't mind waiting!_

 _And, finally, to my dearest **Tiger Priestess** ; I honestly love seeing your comments and inputs on this story because it makes me giggle with how close to the truth in this story you are more often than not- but hoping its nothing serious... Well... It depends on what you mean by serious. xD Who knows, it might be~_

 _I'm glad to be posting again, but with my college classes and finals just around the corner, I will warn that updates- some time in the future- will change from daily to every other day. Hopefully that will help with that issue and still get everything out there for you guys. Anyway, I love you all and hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

 _ **The Eclipse**_

History has had very few Dragon Slayers before our current generation, but even back then, there was something that happened quite a few times a year that affected those slayers greatly. Without knowledge of what caused it, historians looked at the days- or rather- the nights that it had happened on in order to give it a name. Thus, the name _Eclipse Effect_ was given. The name caught on in the Spirit World with the Celestial Spirits, as well, though no human knew this. Hell, even Yukino and Lucy had no idea that their spirits called it the _Eclipse Effect_ as well.

One _key_ difference in what has happened in history as compared to what happens nowadays; back then, the effect wasn't nearly as strong as it is now.

Fairy Tail wizards knew this. The dragon slayers themselves knew this. And, really, they knew why.

The Eclipse Gate.

Lucy sat on Rogue's bed in a criss-cross manner, wearing nothing but his shirt (as per what will be the usual for the next few days), with a book opened in her lap. In her hand was half of a sandwich that the slayer had put together for her and she ate while mulling over what the book in front of her said. It was one of the books she had haphazardly shoved into her bag before making a run for Sabertooth and, unsurprisingly, it was very helpful. She had just grabbed three of the books she was currently reading on and now she was thanking everything in existence for her having the accidental insight to do just that.

It was a book about slayers, what was known about them, and the effect. The Eclipse Effect was what she was reading on, though, since the book actually had misinformation in it when talking about slayers and their magic. If someone wanted accurate information, it was easier just to talk to a damn slayer. That aside, her attention was fully on the book while Rogue's attention was fully on her. He ran his hands through her blonde hair, playing with it without second thought about what he was doing. He was laying down behind her in his pajama pants, waiting for her to finish her reading before trying to get her attention. And if someone _had_ been there with the two and called him a cat for the way he batted at her hair from time to time, he would adamantly deny it.

The woman didn't pay it any mind, though. She knew he was just trying to preoccupy himself while she gave her attention to the book- which she loved.

At least he was trying.

According to this book she was reading on, assuming everything was true (which she couldn't put too much stock in it considering the misinformation already read), the Eclipse Effect could be both good and bad depending on the mood of the slayer. For at least four hundred years now, on the nights of _Total Lunar Eclipses_ , dragon slayers had a few things happen to them- though the mixed effects on different slayers meant there was no certainty as to what would happen.

The slayer in question would get a massive boost in power for the duration of the eclipse- which could be devastating for those around the slayer if something was done to anger them. Total eclipses varied in timing, duration, and even the amount of times they happened per year with no set amount. In fact, in the past two and a half years, it only happened three times. The first lasted only twenty minutes, the second lasted two and a half hours, and the third lasted forty-five minutes. However, before Tenrou yet after she joined the guild (in those five months), a total eclipse had happened _twice_ in that small amount of time.

And Lucy wasn't blind enough to not see that the most recent three were _significantly_ worse than the first two.

The first two were easy to deal with. The first one happened just after Fantasia; Natsu and Gajeel ended up having an _explosive_ fight that completely obliterated a forest nearby because they were fighting over dominance. To see who was the Alpha, apparently. And neither emerged victorious. After that, the guild learned to separate the slayers and the second eclipse was a lot less devastating. (And they actually _didn't_ have to deal with the council after that one! Bonus!) Wendy was in the guild while Natsu and Gajeel were locked in their own respective homes. Wendy ended up blasting everyone at least fifteen yards away from her in all directions and stole every single glass item to hoard in the center. Natsu got out of his house and did over twenty thousand jewel worth of damage to the farmers' market by devouring everything in sight... Well, everything that had been left there overnight for the next day's sales.

That was the year they decided to employ Freed and his runes to work as damage control from then on out.

It took an hour after the eclipse was over to finally get her to return the glass objects. After two hours, she was back to normal and apologizing like crazy to everyone who had to deal with that- while it took that much time to get Natsu to stop eating.

According to this book, dragon slayers that _could_ use the power of dragon force or had the magic reserves to do so will be stuck in that form for the duration of the eclipse. They will get a massive power boost on top of that, as well. It states that the slayer will _Nest_ and hoard whatever objects suits their fancy, refusing to return the objects no matter their purpose or rightful owner. _Nesting_ also included marking their territory in every means they could- rubbing all over anything that might have someone else's scent on it, marking their mates, claiming a portion of space to themselves without letting another living creature into it without a fight to the death.

Lucy flinched at that statement, but took another bite of her sandwich and kept reading.

Slayers become very aggressive as well, typically lasting from one hour _before_ the total eclipse and lasting until one hour _after_ the eclipse is over. Mates of past slayers have stated that they will try and impress them in strange and unusual ways during the eclipse, though the best course of action would be to act impressed no matter what or else they can become slightly aggressive towards them. Another thing the book stated was to prevent the slayer from using magic at all costs, or else the drain on their magic pool after the eclipse is over will be too great to handle.

"Well that explains why Gajeel and Natsu were hospitalized for three days after that..." she mumbled, raising her brows in slight amusement.

"Hm?" Rogue hummed in a questioning manner, sitting up enough to wrap himself around Lucy and peek at the book she had been reading. "What's up?"

She took a bite of her sandwich again and pointed at the passage she had just read. After swallowing her food, she spoke. "The first eclipse I was around for, Gajeel just joined the guild. He and Natsu wiped out the forest that used to be on the outskirts of Magnolia to the north fighting for _Alpha position_ or whatever."

Red eyes skimmed over the words and he nodded with a smirk. "I'm not surprised, to be honest. Sting and I just followed our instincts and stayed the hell away from each other."

"Isn't this the first eclipse you two will be in town for?" she asked curiously.

He nodded. "Yeah. We're partners and take all of our missions together, so around the time of eclipses we partnered with Orga and Rufus and took Monster Hunt missions out in the middle of Bum-Fuck, Nowhere. We'd split up and have those two hunt us down in the morning."

Her brows rose and she nodded in approval. "Seems legit. Gets the point across and everything." After stating this, she shoved the last bite of her food into her mouth to finish off the sandwich.

Rogue, now interested fully in what she had been reading, read over the entire page curiously. He tilted his head a little before flinching. "The last three have been worse than this... Because of what I-... uh... What _he_ did with the Eclipse Gate..?"

Lucy sat the book- still open- in her lap and brought a hand up to run her fingers through his hair. He relaxed further, nuzzling against her. "Yeah. Apparently that changed a lot of things in the Spirit World, too."

"I'm so-"

"Shhh," she cut off his apology. "It's not your fault, baby, it never has been and never will be your fault."

He whimpered and hid his face in the crook of her neck, reveling in her soothing scent and the feeling of her pulse against his forehead. "What... What did it change..?"

"In the Spirit World?" She was met with a nod. Lucy then laid her head against his and hummed in thought. "Well, before, if you summoned a spirit during a total lunar eclipse it would drain your magic much more significantly. Looking back on it, the drain was almost like trying to force three gates open at once... But after what happened at the Games that year, wizards are forbidden from summoning a Spirit during that time. In fact, the keys' magic is gone completely. Like Aquarius's key now is."

He sighed heavily and she turned in his hold. She sat the book to the side and crawled into his lap. "Ryos, it's okay."

"It's not okay, Lucy.."

Using a tactic she learned worked earlier today (when she managed to get him away from her long enough to make her sandwich), Lucy gave a whine that sounded just a _little_ on the upset side. "Baby..."

Rogue froze, his breath hitched, and he gave a whimper in response to her whine. His arms tightened around her and he nuzzled closer to her neck. "Okay... It's okay."

Though he couldn't see it, she smiled triumphantly. Her hands re-positioned themselves in his hair and she sighed contently. Rogue readjusted his face a little, his mouth now pressed against her pulse point. He parted his lips, his tongue raking over her skin, and his teeth teasing the flesh lightly. She inhaled sharply and he smirked at her response.

"C-Can I not go an hour without you- _ahhhn_ -" Her words were cut off by him sucking on the area _hard_.

"Nope," he mused in a whispered breath, "I can't keep my hands off you're delicious body."

Lucy moaned a little louder when he attempted to trail kisses down her front- only to have his shirt get in the way. He growled at the article of clothing and she giggled at his reaction. "Come on, Ryos, I need to call Freed and then Rufus."

He groaned exasperatedly, looking up at her with pleading red eyes. "But.."

Her brown eyes spotted the three hickeys lining his jaw and she subconsciously licked her lips. "Well... One more round won't hurt before I call..."

His grin was triumphant, though it was soon replaced by shock when she shoved him back and straddled his waist.

"I'm in charge this time."

* * *

"Jesus fuck, Lucy, what the hell!" Sting shouted, his blue eyes wide as the looked at the screen of his Lacrima comm. "How hard did she fucking deck you?!"

Rogue chuckled. " _She didn't hit me at all._ "

Minerva, Orga, Rufus, Yukino and Sting were all crowded around the Lacrima comm in the Guild Master's hands.

"Uh," Minerva spoke up, "it looks like she slammed you jaw-first into the ground..."

" _Those are hickeys, you buttholes!_ " Lucy's voice filtered in from somewhere further away from the communication device.

Orga choked on his breath when he heard that before a booming laugh erupted from him. "Jeez! You make him look like he fought a hoard of Vulcan, Shortstack!"

Rogue waggled his brows. " _You should see her-_ "

" _Shut up!_ "

"Ughhhh," Sting groaned, face palming. "Come on, I don't need this right now..."

" _No seriously, look_ ," Rogue said, turning the screen to his mate who was standing with her arms crossed and her hip cocked. She was wearing a pair of short shorts and a tank top and, honestly, none of his teammates wanted to see her intimate areas if the hickeys over the rest of her body indicated anything at all about how those private areas would look. The shadow dragon soon turned it back to himself and he smirked widely. " _The work of a job well done- oW! What was that for?!_ "

" _Do you have to show everyone in the world?!_ "

" _Well it's not like you can cover all of them anyway..._ "

Sting groaned louder when everyone on his end of the communication laughed loudly. With a roll of his blue eyes, the holy dragon returned his attention to his newly-mated partner. "Look, man, Freed called Rufus about the runes and shit. Wanted to let Blondie know she didn't have to call either of them about it."

" _Oh! Thank goodness,_ " Lucy said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Rufus gave a nod, unsure if Lucy could see it or not. "He also gave some very helpful tips and advice on his magic. He did say that if you didn't plan on leaving Rogue's house, the runes you have will suffice, but if you wanted to leave-"

" _She won't be leaving_ ," Rogue growled out possessively.

Which earned him a light smack to the back of his head.

Sting snorted and shook his head, though Yukino was the next one to speak up. "Did you know that your mating caused a city-wide lacrima outage with the amount of magic you two released?"

There was a pregnant pause from both ends of the call before the communication lacrima was ripped from Rogue's hands. When Lucy came on the screen, her brown eyes were wide with worry. " _What? Why? What happened, is everything okay?_ "

"Breathe, girl," Minerva laughed lightly. "We took care of everything. Well, most everything. Orga, Rufus and I have five more large lacrima in town to re-activate, but everything is okay now."

" _You know,_ " Rogue started from somewhere close but off-screen, " _that might also play into why your mark is different._ "

" _Oh that's right... I should get Crux to look into that for me_."

Yukino stole the comm from Sting's hands- which prompted a pout from him. "What do you mean different? Leo and Libra wouldn't let us near your house earlier because of the mating thing, and they said they were already looking into things... But... How different is _different_?"

Lucy smiled and shrugged. " _Very different._ " And, without a trace of shyness, she showed the fleshy part of her left wrist. The part where only two puncture wounds were located with bruise-like shadows around it. That was to be expected. When the light haired woman went to take a breath, Lucy then turned her arm to show the more intricate part of the bite. The smoke-like shadowy wisps that extended from the other two canine marks to her middle finger and back to her elbow.

"What the fuck," Sting breathed out, leaning closer to the screen. "That doesn't look like any mark I've seen, Blondie..."

" _That's the same thing Laxus said earlier today, too... And you're blond, too!_ "

"Oh yeah," Orga mumbled, "Thunder Dick did say you called him earlier, too... Well shit, you get any news on why that happened or anything?"

" _Not a thing. I assume they're preparing for whatever happens on their end,_ " the blonde woman answered dutifully. " _I didn't even know they were looking into things until Yuki said that_."

The other celestial mage shook her head and gave a half-hearted smile. "Who knows. I just hope everything's okay. Did anything weird happen during-"

"Don't ask them about their sex life!" Sting shouted, looking at his mate with wide eyes.

Orga and Minerva laughed and Rufus had a hard time keeping his laughter to himself.

" _To answer your question, Yuki, nothing weird happened. The only difference in that time and the last... Five times is how sweet his words were-_ "

" _Don't give the information!_ " Rogue protested from off-screen, causing another bout of laughter to be heard.

Minerva shoved her way through the men and put her chin on Yukino's shoulder, a lecherous smile twisting her mouth. "Sweet words? What are we talking about here?~"

"Yes, Lucy, do tell~" the light haired woman cooed.

Sting groaned loudly and Rufus took leave after that- deciding to be the only one who respected privacy apparently.

" _My favorite was- ahem-_ your body is a temple made of stardust _because that was the cutest. In my opinion,_ " she replied with a broad and happy smile.

Yukino giggled to suppress a squeal and Minerva began making kissy faces at the screen. She knew Rogue would see it. "How adowable~ Witt'ew Wogue is gwowin up~"

He growled in response to the black haired woman's teases, but he soon put his arm around Lucy's shoulders and he was seen on screen as well. " _If you must know, the one I put the most thought into was about the King_."

" _Oh I told Virgo all of them. I told her I wanted to know what Stache Face had to say about that bit,_ "

He whined out, covering his eyes with the palm of his hand. " _Do you really have to tell everyone..?_ "

" _Yes_."

Yukino laughed loudly- nearly matching the volume of Sting's usual laughs. "Wait what about the King?"

" _Nothing_ ," Rogue quickly said, his ruby eyes staring holes into the screen.

Minerva laughed again. "Aww, come on!"

" _I'll tell you guys later,_ " Lucy offered with a wink- bringing another groan from both Sting _and_ Rogue. " _In the mean time, I've gotta get off this thing to go set those runes up._ "

"Alright! I'll hold you to it, Lu. We'll have a girls night and get the other mates over, too~" Minerva offered with a wave.

" _Sounds great! We'll see you guys in a few days!_ "

* * *

 **Eclipse**.  
 _Estimated Time Into Event: 10 Minutes._  
 _Estimated Time Remaining: 75 Minutes._

Lisanna's eyes were wider than saucers when she was told that she needed to stay by Natsu's side during this Eclipse. The last two that she had seen, the pink haired man was feral and unreachable with mere words. This time didn't _seem_ any different at all. As she stood in the middle of the living room she couldn't take her wide, blue eyes off of the slayer stalking towards her with slow, confident steps. Fire was coming from the pores in his arms, calves, and eyes as though it belonged there. The look in those olive eyes should have terrified her, but somehow, it comforted her. Her subconscious recognized the danger that emitted from him, but the mark on her shoulder was pulsing and soothing her fears away.

His olive green eyes were akin to a dragon's, large and feral. His canines were longer than usual, and the scales found in various locations over his body only furthered the fact that she _should be afraid_. She watched with bated breath as his left hand came up to completely rip his vest off of his torso.

 _'Great, another vest tattered. He really needs to stop destroying his clothes,'_ she thought idly.

Why on Earthland was she so calm? Why were her thoughts so simple?

Why wasn't she running in fear?

"Lis," he barked out in an almost angry manner. The danger in his tone only made her shiver in anticipation for his actions, though.

"Yes, Natsu?" she asked, her voiced words no more than breathy huffs.

He growled though the sound was like it came from somewhere deep in his gut rather than from his throat. It was dark, frightening, yet somehow enchanting. His footsteps seemed to falter at her words, like his body was allowing his brain to register that she was not going anywhere. His draconic eyes, his slitted pupils, everything about him seemed to pause in recognition. She felt the mark on her shoulder pulse again.

"Are you not..." he started, his brows furrowing. His mouth twisted into a disgusting snarl and she could see his teeth grinding together. His steps stopped near completely and it looked as though he were internally fighting himself. "Why aren't you running?!" he screamed.

She pushed her white hair behind her ear and her eyes softened. He was trying hard to stop whatever was trying to force its way to the surface from within him. Confidently, she took a few steps forward, meeting him at the entry way to their kitchen. "Because I know you won't hurt me."

His eyes only widened again, another growl releasing itself at her close proximity.

Her hands, small yet lightly calloused, reached up to hold his face. When his body didn't react negatively, Natsu eased his tension. Whatever he had been fighting only made him nuzzle into her hands, making her giggle cutely. His left hand went to her chin and she thought, for a moment, that he was going to bring her up to kiss her. Instead, he pushed her head to the side so that he could see her mating mark easier. Though he _did_ forcefully move her head, it wasn't enough to hurt her at all- more or less, all it did was startle her.

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth, wondering just what he was going to do.

"Are you happy?" he asked. His question startled the Strauss woman, but when she looked to his face to the best of her ability (since he still had a hold on her chin), he looked lost in thought. He looked preoccupied.

"Happy?" Lisanna asked curiously.

"With me," was his near immediate response.

Her blue eyes widened considerably. "Of course I am! I love you, Natsu, and every single day I get to spend by your side... It's like watching my dreams come true day in and day out," she said with confidence.

His eyes lazily went back to her and she knew what had happened in that moment. The pink haired man she knew and loved dearly had allowed his inner dragon to take over completely- yet she still wasn't afraid. She held no fear.

"You should run," he said softly.

"Never," her response was immediate.

The flames coming from his olive eyes died out at the response, and his boyish grin returned to his face. "You're perfect."

"I'm not-"

"You are. You have to believe you are," he whispered.

She was hesitant to agree. Lisanna knew that there was no such thing as perfection in this world or the next, yet she wanted to believe. She wanted to. And the comforting pulses coming from her mating mark only made her want to believe his words that much more.

Natsu's mouth descended on her shoulder, directly over her mark, and a moan left her mouth the moment he did. She felt complete again when his tongue snaked over the mark lovingly. She felt whole in a way she had never felt before.

"I've caused you pain," he breathed out over the mark. "I was the reason you got taken away."

"No you weren't," she responded, her breath hitching. "That was outside of your control."

"I should have been there... I should have gone with you," he murmured against her skin.

She shook her head, her hands threading through his pink hair. "There was nothing you could have done."

"Please," he started, his tone pleading. "Please tell me..."

Her blue eyes widened when his hands dropped to her hips. His hold on her was bruising- but not in a bad way. It was tight, yes, but not too painful. He wasn't trying to hurt her, he was trying to make her see something. What he was trying to make her see, though, she didn't know. She didn't know what he wanted her to tell him, she didn't know what he wanted her to see... She was lost even though she was home. She was home in his arms.

"Tell me," he demanded.

Her body moved without her consent. Her mouth moved without her brain processing it. "I'm perfect."

He growled out, pleased with her words, and bit her again right over her mark. She could feel his magic in her veins and she briefly worried about his magic entering her body- but that worry was soon swept away when a wave of unexplained pleasure wracked her to the bone. "N-Natsu," she moaned out.

Natsu's strong arms wrapped around her body again and he sucked on the skin of her shoulder. "I'm going to get rid of that disgusting smell on you."

Through the haze of pleasure, she furrowed her brows. "Sm-Smell..?"

"You smell like that lightning freak," he said lowly. Danger once again emitted from him and she knew he was about to leave to possibly attack Laxus. Especially with the way he took a step as though to pull away from her.

"It's my sister," she hurried out, trying to stop him from hitting the runes before it was too late. "But if I smell like him... Then why don't you claim me again?"

He froze. His entire body grew stiff. And she felt him smirk against her shoulder. "Oh, I will."

* * *

 **Eclipse**.  
 _Estimated Time Into Event: 20 Minutes._  
 _Estimated Time Remaining: 65 Minutes._

Levy gasped loudly as Gajeel punched another hole into the wall of his house.

Of their house.

Once again, during the time of the eclipse, he was going wild. Going crazy. Her feet dangled off of the counter she was sitting on, watching as he paced back and forth in the living room. His normally tanned skin had been replaced with iron scales. His once small red irises now nearly swallowed the whites of his sclera whole. His gruff voice was deeper, almost husky, and way _too_ gravelly. He was dangerous like this. Hell, he was dangerous normally but now? Now it was worse. So much worse. But, danger aside, he had gathered the strangest items in their house to place on the floor of the living room he was in, and it confused her greatly.

None of the items seemed tied together in the least bit.

There were stainless steel pots and pans, a handful of metal figurines, a few lacrima, some chrome makeup brushes Levy owned... Hell, he even had a few of his iron figures he had created in his heap of stuff. The fan she had, two rolls of tin foil, and a few nuts and bolts. What confused her the most was that he had dug through the pile of scrap metal- all iron, mind you- and only pulled out certain pieces to throw into his hoard of miscellaneous items. Hell, their silverware was in there as well!

At first, the blue haired woman assumed it was all metal, but that thought was thrown out when he added her fan and the lacrima.

His behavior was confusing, to say the least.

"Not enough," he grumbled under his breath. "Not enough, it's not enough..."

His pacing turned to stomping before he stopped completely. When he stopped, her breath caught in her throat. Who knew what he was going to do? A calming pulse rocketed through her system from the mating mark at her inner left thigh and her breathing evened out. Gajeel ran, with purpose, through the house and straight into their shared bedroom. When he returned with her metal full-body mirror to add to his collection, she realized exactly what he was doing and what he was hoarding. She watched as he emptied his jewel savings and gold pieces onto the heaping pile of things, which only served to confirm what she was thinking. And holy shit, it took _so much effort_ to keep from laughing.

Carefully, silently, she put magic to her two fingers and waved them through the air.

Soon enough, six letters made of metal formed in the air about two feet from the ground. The letters C-H-R-O-M-E were glaring, reflective, and any lights on in the house made that same light bounce off of the letters' surface. She waved her fingers again, creating the four letter word I-R-O-N, which also gleamed in the light.

When the two heavy words hit the floor with a ground shaking _thud_ , Gajeel sharply turned to her and came racing into the kitchen. There was worry in those large red eyes as he looked her over- not caring about anything else in that moment. He was more concerned about something having happened to his mate than whatever it was that made the loud noise and the ground beneath his feet shake. Once he had seen that she was safe, he furrowed his pierced brows.

"What happened, Shrimp?"

Levy, still trying so hard to hold in her giggles, merely shrugged casually.

He growled angrily, obviously not liking her response. He turned around, probably to return to his pile in the living room, when his eyes caught the two large words sitting near the doorway.

Oh gods, her laughs were getting hard to keep down.

His face lit up like a Christmas tree- or like a child's face upon seeing said Christmas tree. A wide smile lifted the corners of his mouth and he quickly gathered the letters to take and dump into his hoard.

His hoard.

Of shiny objects.

A snort of a laugh finally escaped the woman, but she soon covered that up with a cough. The iron dragon slayer then turned to face her, his chest puffed out in pride and his hands on his hips. The smile of triumph on his features made her heart skip a beat- especially since his triumphant looks were almost always smirks, never smiles. He seemed like a kid wearing a cape and trying to impersonate his favorite super hero, but she was _not_ about to voice that. Not when he- for once in his life- seemed so innocent about his intentions and actions. It was far too cute.

Too cute for the solid script mage to have ever imagined someone as 'scary' as her mate.

"Are you proud of yourself?" Her tone was a little on the teasing side- but she couldn't help it.

He nodded, rushing up to her and settling himself between her legs. "'Course I am. Do ya like it?"

To hide the smile on her face that screamed that she was about to laugh, she rested her forehead against his chest. "I _love_ it, 'Jeel."

"Gihihi," he laughed out, his pride showing in his laughter.

One of his hands crept up her leg, his index and middle fingers rubbing over the puncture marks there. His fingers connecting with the mark shot wave after wave of comfort through her veins. Comfort, magic, and love. Whatever laughter she was trying to contain died in that moment, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest.

"You're the Queen of it, y' know?" he asked, his voice no louder than a light whisper.

Her brows furrowed lightly and she tilted her head a little. "Of what?"

"The hoard!" he exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And she snorted at that, rolling her hazel eyes. This was obviously the wrong reaction, though, as his eyes narrowed angrily. "What'so funny, Shrimp?"

His tone was sharp. A knife. And even though she should have been afraid and she should have flinched away, she couldn't. Not when she felt so comfortable. So safe.

"I'm not the _Queen_ of anything."

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm no-"

"Yes," he growled out angrily, knocking his forehead against hers lightly. "You're a damned queen an' ya better realize that real quick-like."

' _I better_?' she thought. Oh no. _No_. She met his anger with a little anger of her own, a fire igniting pure defiance in her eyes as she slapped his hand away from her mark.

Telling her what to do was the worst possible thing. He knew that and he realized his mistake a little too late.

"How am I a queen, then. How. Explain to me how I am or else," she breathed out, her eyes narrowing, "I'll leave."

His eyes widened and she could have _swore_ tears tried to well up before he blinked them away. A whimper left his throat and he buried his face in her neck, but she was still angry. He _k_ _new_ not to tell her what to do. He _knew._ Even when they worked as Rune Knights together, on any missions they went on, or even if they were just relaxing in the guild... Any time he ever told her what to do like that, or demanded anything in that manner, she left. She left him alone for the next few hours until she got an apology. She wasn't about to change that now- Eclipse or not.

Another whimper left him and she felt a little guilty- but she wasn't about to back down. He knew better than that.

"Y'er just... Y'er..."

He bit his lower lip and she raised a brow, refusing to acknowledge him until he explained himself.

"Dammit, Shrimp, y'er gorgeous. Y'er beautiful and a shinin' fuckin' light. I can't ever tell ya no like how ain't a damn person able to tell a queen no. Ya know I ain't good with words like you are, but... Dammit.. Don't leave me... I just want ya to see how fuckin' perfect you are. How you make me feel... At home. Make me feel complete. I love ya and just... Want ya to know that you _are_ like a queen and-"

He was cut off by Levy yanking his head away from her neck by his hair. Fear gripped at his heart for less than half of a second before she forced her lips against his with ferocity and purpose like he had never seen in her before. And holy shit did it ignite a fire in his gut. He kissed her back with just as much passion and force, their teeth knocking together and their tongues clashing against one another near angrily. His hands gripped at her thighs- _hard-_ and he reveled in the moan she let out. He was quick to pick her up and wrap her legs around his torso.

She pulled back enough to stare into his eyes with her lidded hazel ones. "Mark me again, 'Jeel."

* * *

 **Eclipse**.  
 _Estimated Time Into Event: 25 Minutes._  
 _Estimated Time Remaining: 60 Minutes._

Laxus growled out in a pleased manner. He watched on as Mirajane finally removed her heel from his chest.

Satan Soul Mirajane seemed to please the dragon within him and he really couldn't deny this. Hell, even though his conscious non-dragon-force mind knew the dangers wrapped around the woman when she was in this form, he still loved this side of her almost as much as her 'normal' side. She was fierce, confident, and calculating. She was everything he wanted and more- oh, so much more. _Especially_ when she was enraged. Yet, she wasn't mad at him right now. No, she was trying to keep him in place.

He felt the shift happen nearly the moment the eclipse had happened- wait. No. He felt the shift long before the moon was shadowed and dyed a blood red. He knew he was in dragon force, but hell, from his spot on the floor of his house... He just couldn't bring himself to care.

Mira's blue eyes were looking down at him as though he were a peasant and dear _gods_ it was turning him on more than he wanted to admit.

"Are you going to stay down?"

Her voice- her tone- sent a delicious shiver down his spine.

"No," he said defiantly. The smirk he wore on his face was just as dangerous as she was.

Magic power _poured_ from her in waves that sent more shivers through him. Her eyes were wild, untamed, and _dear gods_ he couldn't have asked for anything better. As though to try and prove his defiance, he attempted to sit up- only to have the heel of her boot be shoved back into the center of his chest. He was unceremoniously reconnected with the ground, the back of his head connecting with the tiled floor with a loud thud. His smirk faltered, but never left.

Lightning arched off of his skin and a moment of slight panic arose when he saw it begin to travel up her body- from the heeled foot she held him down with all the way up to her neck. Her already lifted hair didn't seem affected and, to be honest, it didn't even look like she noticed. Those commandeering eyes of hers got closer when she bent her left knee and leaned against it with her elbows. When her dominating personality came out, his rebellious nature was shoved to the side. Now, with the way she calmed him down with nothing more than a glare, he wanted to worship her. He wanted to make her writhe beneath him but still demand he bend to her wishes and whims.

"I'll only ask one more time," she said slowly. Her eyes narrowed even further and she twisted her foot a little, causing her shoe's heel to scratch painfully against his chest. "Are you going to stay down?"

His storm blue eyes finally gave up the defiance within them. His tongue snaked out and he licked his lips as he watched her. "Only if you keep me down."

She rose a brow, a sneer playing at her lips. "You want me to force you down?"

"Yes," he breathed out. "Oh fuck yes I do."

She shook her head and rolled her blue eyes. "Give me one good reason why I should."

"I'll try to pin you down instead if you don't."

This time, both of her brows rose. A huff of a laugh left through her nose. "That's funny. I said a _good_ reason."

Laxus was taken aback at this reaction, but he didn't deny it. He didn't defy it. He _couldn't_ defy her. Mira had him wrapped around her pinky and she knew it, she knew how to play him like a fiddle. She was confident enough in herself to know that she never had to worry about him in the least bit, and when he realized this, he inhaled sharply. He was truly blessed to have her as his mate and he couldn't help but to watch in awe as the lightning that licked at _her_ skin gravitated towards her hip. Towards her mark. He licked his lips again, his eyes locking with hers once more.

"You deserve to have me at your mercy," he spake.

Those words seemed to please her- based off of the smirk now on her lips. A smirk he only got to see when she was in her Satan Soul. He watched with bated breath as she returned to normal, her takeover completely leaving her.

All of it did.

Except the smirk on her lips.

"Then you'll stay down."

* * *

 **Eclipse**.  
 _Estimated Time Into Event: 45 Minutes._  
 _Estimated Time Remaining: 40 Minutes._

Three Fairy Tail wizards watched in horror at the sight before them.

Well, in honesty, they had been watching since it began about two hours before the moon was covered completely.

Freed, Romeo and Cana were standing about thirty yards away from the rune barrier the green haired man had set up. Cana had her arm in front of the youngest wizard that insisted he stay here (against his father's will) while Freed watched the barrier in concern. They hadn't expected anything like this to have happened.

In the beginning, Wendy was complacent and sat in the center of the area without complaint. In fact, she was carrying on a decent conversation with the other three on the outside of the runes with no problem at all. Once again, akin to the event before Tenrou island, she had gathered every single glass object in the guild and put them in her stash of items without hesitation- though that was long before they caged her in. She knew what she would look for, she knew what would happen, so she took care of it before they sent everyone home from the guild.

She gathered everything before they had moved the tables from the center of the guild's commons.

About an hour before the moon was shadowed, the three mages on the outside watched on in awe as her hair turned from blue to pink- her eyes turned from brown to pink. They watched as those pink irises nearly completely enveloped her eyes, her black pupil standing out against the electric pink coloration. Romeo had called them beautiful before, but no one was sure if he still thought the same thing.

As soon as the moon was fully covered and the total eclipse officially began, she stopped mid-sentence and scrunched her nose in disgust. She dove head first into her hoard of glass objects and took her time nuzzling and cuddling each and every one of the objects. Everything from drinking glasses to figurines and even the mirrors. It took an explanation from Freed (who let the other two know she was marking her scent over the things) for Cana to shut up about how weird she was acting. Wendy's nose wrinkled again and she was soon acting like a dog who just had a bath- rubbing her face and back all over the wooden floorboards.

Unfortunately enough for the three mages, it was at that moment that she took the time to sniff the air again.

And she screamed- no, _screeched._

A torrent of air filled the room, wrapping around her like a tornado with the force of the wind. She let out another shriek of anger before she slammed herself against the rune wall. Her pink eyes were filled with fury that the three had never seen before- not even in Natsu or Gajeel or even Laxus.

Whatever pissed off this young woman...

It struck pure, unadulterated terror into the mages safely on the other side of the barrier.

And now, we're caught up to what was currently happening. Wendy let out attack after attack at the cage keeping her locked up. Her breath attack, her talon attack, the Sky Drill... Everything she had in her arsenal was beating _furiously_ against the purple wall of runes. Her screams of anger- sometimes mistaken for anguish- were screams that none of them would ever forget. They were screams that would haunt their deepest nightmares.

It was like some force was keeping her attacks from shattering the hoard of glass objects behind her- considering that, regularly, they all would have shattered by now. It was like she was purposefully keeping them from being hurt- even while she attacked the rune barrier keeping her locked in. With another shout of defiance, her pink eyes wild and feral like her current actions proved to be, she locked her eyes with Cana's brown ones while magic energy _seeped_ from her person.

" _GET AWAY FROM HIM!_ "

At that scream, Wendy let out the most powerful breath attack yet. However, this time, instead of unleashing it at the walls, she faced the ceiling. The wooden ceiling of the guild stood no chance against the sheer _power_ of her attack. Not even Laxus could have let out a breath attack that powerful unless he was in dragon force on a normal day. At that thought, Cana shivered hoping like _hell_ she would never have to see his power during an eclipse.

Freed's breath caught in his throat and he shook his head, mentally noting that she _had_ to be talking about Romeo since Cana was no where _near_ him. "Wendy, you want us to get away from him?" he shouted at her.

The attack was cut off at his words and her glower was directed at the rune mage. He fought every instinct inside of him that told him to turn tail and _run_. " _She_ needs to _get the hell away_!"

Cana gasped loudly, her brown eyes widening. Wendy was adamantly against cursing but even more than that, she and Cana were decent friends. To the point where the card mage refused to corrupt the blue haired lass in any way, shape, or form. Hell, Cana sometimes went as far as to pay for a shopping spree she would go on with the youngest slayer!

Romeo took a step away from her and held his hands up. "Y-You want me away from her... R-Right..?"

The currently-pink haired lass stopped, the harsh winds coming to an abrupt stop at the sound of his voice. Her pink eyes turned to him and now, instead of fury lurking in their depths, they were filled with fear and sadness. "Romeo.. Are... Are you scared of me..?"

Gulping harshly, the fire mage shook his head and ignored the protests from the other two behind him as he walked closer to the barrier. He ignored Freed's shouting to stay back because his runes were getting weaker with every attack she unleashed. He ignored Cana screaming that Wendy wasn't in her right mind and anything could happen. He ignored them all. He was careful with his steps, his palms still facing her in surrender. "N-No, Wendy... I-I'm not."

"Why are you stuttering?!" she demanded, tears filling her eyes. "Why are coming at me like I'm.. I'm a monster?!"

"You're not!" His protesting shout was accompanied by his hands returning to his sides. His fists clenched tightly and he locked his eyes with hers. "You're not a monster, Wendy! You'll never be one!"

"Then why... Why were you doing that..." She took a small step back, both of her hands covering where her heart should be. The aching throb coming from her heart was almost unbearable. All she wanted was for Cana to get away from him... She never wanted him to be afraid of her. She never wanted him to fear her or think of her like a monster. A pathetic whimper came from her throat at that thought.

"I'm not afraid of you. I'll never be afraid of you. I..." he paused, obviously thinking over his words. "I was- no, I _am_ scared _for_ you. I don't understand what's happening and I don't know how I can help you.. I just want you to be okay..."

The young woman placed the palms of her hands over her eyes to contain the tears that threatened to fall. "I-I'm so sorry..."

The lad on the other side sighed lightly, a small smile lifting his mouth. At least her attacks had stopped. He placed a hand gently on the barrier and shook his head- not that she could see any of that. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Wen. You can't help it."

She sniffled and hiccuped, wiping furiously at her eyes. "I-I'm sorry about this F-Freed... C-Cana..."

"It's okay, girlie," Cana said in a soothing manner. "I get it, girl, I do. You want me to leave..?"

"N-Not really... But..."

"Instincts?" the brunette asked, a lopsided smile on her face. When she got a nod, she laughed a little. "Alright then. Freed, you okay with looking over little Romeo here?"

"I'll be fine," he offered with a curt nod. "I'll ensure his safety." After that confirmation, Cana left the guildhall.

Wendy inhaled shakily, sinking to the floor and finally removing her hands from her eyes. "I-I'm sorr-"

"Wen," Romeo interrupted, sitting down on the other side of the barrier to be at eye-level with her, "it's okay, I swear it."

* * *

 **Eclipse**.  
 _Estimated Time Into Event: 50 Minutes._  
 _Estimated Time Remaining: 35 Minutes._

Confidence seemed like something completely out of the usual for the light haired celestial wizard.

It just wasn't her strong suit.

And that seemed to serve as an ugly reminder as she stood stark naked in the middle of the living room. All of the furniture in the room had been shoved unceremoniously to the side by the Holy Dragon in this moment. The white markings on his skin were a reminder that he could easily overpower her, yet even still, she couldn't find it in her to be afraid of the moment. Uncomfortable? Hell yes. Afraid? No. The mark above her left nipple was pulsing in a strange mixture of _home_ and pleasure- something that she refused to let overwhelm the discomfort she felt about standing naked in the middle of the damned living room.

The blond man she was mated to had rifled through every part of the house and had grabbed every single article of clothing off of hangers, out of the wash, out of the bathroom, off the floor, and out of the dresser drawers to create a literal nest out of those clothes. Sting had a decent amount of clothes, yes, but Yukino owned enough to create a store specializing in clothes.

She couldn't help but be mildly amused by the birds-like-nest made from the clothing articles. And, unfortunately for her, any time she went to grab _anything_ to cover herself, Sting would growl and snap his teeth at her. Thankfully he wasn't using magic to keep her away from the things being used to make a nest, but even still.

"Yuyu," he cooed.

His dark tone of voice sent a chill down her back.

In his hands was a shirt that she had borrowed from Lucy at the Games. He held the cloth up to his nose- obviously taking in the scent- and his eyes were narrowed dangerously. Angrily.

"Why does this smell like Natsu."

It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

Her arms wrapped around her chest a little tighter, one leg crossing over the other to shield herself from his gaze- even if it wasn't directed at her in that moment. Oh, how she wanted to run. She wanted to get out of this house because she did _not_ like being forced to stand naked. Yes, the drapes were drawn. Yes, he was just as naked as she was. But that didn't help her in the least bit.

"It was Lucy's. She let me borrow it after the last Grand Magic Games we entered," she answered.

He hummed as though debating on if her answer was reasonable or not. Apparently it was a good response... But it was a bad thing to have in his nest. He ripped the shirt in half with an angry snarl followed by a noise of triumph. Yukino would have been amused by this had it been her _own_ shirt. But it wasn't. It wasn't her shirt at all, it was her friends' shirt. Ignoring her nudity, she stomped her foot on the ground and clenched her fists at her side.

"Sting! That was Lucy's shirt!" she yelled.

He flinched and looked back at her.

"But it smelled like Natsu!" His defense was weak and it was almost like he knew it, too.

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Alright. Listen. You can move around the furniture, that's fine. You can steal all of our clothes, that's fine. You can make a damned nest out of it in the living room, _that's fine_. You can force me to stand naked, _that's fine!_ But you just destroyed something that belongs to a dear friend of mine!"

He shrunk away for a brief second before taking a step towards her and getting defensive again. "You haven't given it back to her yet, though! It's been almost three years since then!"

The light haired woman narrowed her eyes at him. "And? Your point?"

"If you haven't given it back and she hasn't asked for it back, she probably doesn't care!"

"Or she _does_ care and she merely _forgot_ with what happened," she argued, her tone low.

This time, he rushed up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Yuyu-"

"Where the hell did that nickname come from, too?!"

He growled and shook his head. "Fine. Yukino. I don't want anything smelling like-"

"I don't care, Sting!" She pulled herself away from his hold, her narrowed eyes still on his blue eyes. "You went too far- Eclipse or not!"

His flinch was so harsh you would think she had physically hit him. "Yukino... Please..."

She sighed, closed her eyes, and held her forehead in her hand while she shook her head. "What on Earthland am I going to do with you..."

"Love me..?" he offered weakly.

When her eyes looked to him again, he honestly resembled a kicked puppy or a child being scolded by his mother. "I guess," she said, trying so hard to ignore the way her heart ached at the sight of him like that. "But you're buying her a new shirt to make up for it."

"Okay!"

His instant mood shift would have scared her if she didn't know how the blond operated. The smile on his face looked like it was about to split his face in two and the excitement glimmering in his blue eyes was reminiscent of a child at an amusement park. He swiftly picked her up and wrapped her legs around his torso, nuzzling his nose against the mating mark on her left breast. She rolled her eyes and placed a gentle kiss atop his head, giggling when he hummed happily in response. Carrying her, he stepped back into the center of the literal nest he had made and sat down with her in his lap.

And, honestly, it was like he wasn't even aware they were both naked.

"So, do you like it?" His question threw her for a loop and she was hesitant to answer.

Did she _like_ it? No. But she didn't want to upset him again. Especially not with her on his lap like this. Yukino knew without a doubt that he would never hurt her, but in the same breath, it was the eclipse and she _had_ been warned before it started that Sting couldn't control his instincts or his emotions during this time. The blond man himself warned her, since it was their first eclipse together. He warned her that he would create a hoard of clothes- like he did almost every year with his own clothes and then turned to annihilate anything that came close to his small 'hoard' in the wild. He had also warned her that his actions were more based off of emotion than instinct, but instinct had a _major_ role to play in it as well. He even went so far as to explain that his emotions would dominate his actions more than instincts while other slayers were more dominated by instincts rather than emotion.

So while she wasn't _surprised_ at the actions, it still didn't mean she was _ready_ for them, either.

"I'm impressed," she offered in response to his question.

She didn't like it, but she _was_ impressed. Though she wasn't sure if she was impressed that she managed to fit all these clothes in her house or if he had managed to make a nest that looked like literal walls from the items... No matter what it was, it _wasn't_ a lie. And, in her mind, that's what counted most.

He growled, pleased by her answer, and nuzzled his nose against her mark again. Before she could roll her eyes at his childish actions, he grazed a little too close to her nipple and she inhaled sharply. The gasp seem to stir something within the slayer and she felt him starting to harden beneath her, thus adding to her arousal. He took a deep breath and growled yet again, looking up at her with a confident smirk on his face.

"You love me, right?" he asked.

She blinked twice, confused, but nodded. "Of course. I have for years, you dork."

He nodded, placing a kiss to her jaw. "And you trust me?"

"I do." Her answer was immediate.

He hummed again and kissed her neck, causing another shaky breath to be drawn. "Do you believe what I say?"

She nodded. "I do. You've never lied to me. Teased me, yes, but never lied."

Sting bit her neck lightly, drawing a moan from her that only got louder when his tongue flitted over where his teeth had been moments before. "Then you need to believe me when I say this," he breathed out. He shifted, sitting up long enough to lay her on her back as he sucked harshly on her neck. "When you pin me down, you look the sexiest. You look gorgeous. You look perfect when you command me to do stuff."

Yukino kept her legs wrapped around him, though she did move her legs down to press their nether regions together- drawing a moan from the man over her. "Okay..?"

"You deserve that kind of confidence all the time."

"Sting-"

"And I'll show you. I'll prove it to you."

* * *

 **Eclipse**.  
 _Estimated Time Into Event: 55 Minutes._  
 _Estimated Time Remaining: 30 Minutes._

Lucy watched with amusement glimmering in her chocolate eyes.

Rogue was such a _dork._

When the eclipse began, she watched him pace their bedroom for at least twenty minutes, as though attempting to make a decision. After that, he seemed to come to an internal decision and then promptly ripped open his pantry and pulled out every single pillow and blanket he had out of it. He stripped their shared bed, the guest bed, stole Frosch's little blanket Virgo brought the exceed, and went as far as to take the throw pillows from the couch. Even took the damned cushion off of the couch.

For a moment, as he was gathering his materials, Lucy wondered briefly if he was going to make a literal nest from it. Nope.

The dork made a _giant_ pillow fort encompassing the entire Living Room.

She sighed, though the smile on her face was unmistakable.

The blonde could tell that even though he set it up as a fort of sorts (even going as far as using the sheets as well), it was his version of a hoard. Which made her want to laugh her ass off. She remembered that Wendy hoarded glass objects.. But she figured that the rest of them would hoard things that actual dragons would hoard. You know. Jewels, jewelry, coins, gold, and so on. But no. Here was her mate, the shadow dragon, creating a pillow fort in their living room with his hoard of sleep-related comfort items.

She cocked a hip, her arms crossed under her bust, and a brow was raised in curiosity. He said this was the first Eclipse that he and Sting were going through in the city, which made her wonder if Sting hoarded these items too or if it was just this nerd.

And then, obviously not liking the scent of _his own fucking partner_ on the little lily-pad-and-pink-frog-covered blanket, the black haired man laid the blanket on the ground and started nuzzling into it. Like a dog. Which made it even harder to contain her laughter. But the words of the book she read earlier echoed in her mind, and that was honestly the only thing keeping her from busting out in gut-aching laughter. She _would_ get probably the only slayer who hoarded something as strange as this.

Oh, that girls night could _not_ come soon enough.

She was _sooooo_ going to tattle-tell on this nerd.

And, as though he heard her thoughts, Rogue sat up and looked at her. His red eyes were wide and his head was tilted a little, reminding her of a dog who thought it just heard its name. _Dear stars, it was getting hard to contain her laughter_.

"Yes, dear?" she asked.

His brows furrowed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

A snort of a laugh left before she could force it down. "It's interesting, hun. Do you always do this?"

His eyes sparkled in some, unseen light at her words. He looked pleased with himself and his work and she could see his pride in the way he lifted his chin just a little bit more. A smile ghosted over his lips, too. "Nope. I told you this is the first time we've been in town for an eclipse."

She smiled even wider, shaking her head at his actions. "You're a piece of work, you know."

He crawled his way out of the fort he created and scrambled off further into the house. He looked like a child as he ran around to turn off every single lacrima and blow out any candles and lanterns they had lit. Once the house was pitch-black, he grabbed her hand and tugged her into his fort.

"I may be a piece of work, but you love me."

"I do," she responded, nuzzling against his neck gently.

Rogue hummed and entwined their fingers, holding her hand tightly. She smiled and only _then_ did it dawn on her that she _shouldn't_ have been able to see with how dark it was. But she was able to clearly see the wide smile lifting the corners of his lips. She could see the dark markings on his skin showing his dragon-force ability. She could see the twinkle in his gentle red eyes that let her know how happy he was in that moment. And, furthermore, she could see when he brought their entwined hands up to place a kiss on her left knuckles.

Before their eyes, the once shadow-like marking on her left arm glowed a faint gold.

And he didn't react to it. Like he knew it was going to happen.

But it scared the hell out of her.

"What- What's happening-"

"Shh." He hushed her and then placed a kiss to her lips. Gentle and inviting. She huffed through her nose and he pulled back, raising his brows. "It's our magic, Lucy. Don't think too hard on it."

"But what if it's something bad? Or what if it's a negative reaction? Or-"

Again, he kissed her, cutting her words off quickly. This time, she growled out. In response, he chuckled silently against her lips.

Rogue laid on his back, pulling Lucy on top of him. His smile fell just a little as it became softer, his eyes raking up her figure. "You're gorgeous."

Though upset that he wasn't paying attention to her _fucking glowing arm that could be harmful_ , she couldn't help but smile at his words. The only good thing, in the moment, that came from the glow was how it illuminated his face so perfectly. His slightly yellow-toned beige skin seemed like the perfect canvas for the golden hues to bounce off of, his red eyes catching the light so perfectly that it made them seem like the most precious gemstones alive, and _holy shit her heart wouldn't stop fluttering._

She leaned down, placing a kiss to his smiling lips. " _You're_ perfect."

"Mm," he hummed as he kissed her again, "I think you're more perfect."

She giggled and shook her head. "You're a _nerd_."

"But I'm _your nerd_."

Her chocolate eyes blinked twice and she shook her head again, sitting up. "Can't argue with that logic, then."

He laughed openly, freely, and Lucy didn't think she had ever heard a more beautiful sound in her lifetime. His strong jaw had been shaven once again sometime during the day and the expanse of the connection it made to his neck made her mouth water. Though she paid it no mind- and didn't even realize it was happening- the dimly glowing wisps on her left arm had begun to move up her arm and to her chest. In that time frame, she had removed the tank top she wore and smirked down at him.

"Do you think tomorrow, we can go to the gui-aah," her words were cut off by a moan, though nothing had happened between the two.

He didn't bite her, kiss her, lick her... Nothing. His hands weren't even touching anything more than where their hands were connected. But he smirked. He smirked at her reaction to the dimly glowing wisps travelling lazily over her skin and his eyes watched as they did so.

"Wh-What..."

"You, my beautiful woman," he said, pulling her down again so that their mouths were mere centimeters apart, "are going into heat."

Another gasp left her mouth and she knew his words to be true. Molten lava seemed to flow through her veins in place of the blood that usually ran there, and _oh stars she wanted that hot feeling gone now._

"M-Make it stop... I-It's too... It's too hot..."

"I can't stop it," he whispered before lifting his hips so that his groin would grind hard against hers, "but I can ease the feeling."

"Please... Fuck... Please, Ryos..." she moaned out.

His smirk widened and he ground their most intimate areas together again, reveling in the sounds that fell from her lips in response to it. "With pleasure."


	17. The Morning After

_**Author's Note** : Hey, I'm finally back!_

 _I owe you guys a little bit of an explanation considering that it took over an entire week to get this posted so here we go: I'm a college student so please forgive me on that front. After my midterms, Chemistry and Calculus decided to kick my ass to Neptune and back and the classes are only getting harder. My chem professor is a sadist, I swear. But, Anyway._

 _On top of that, I just got REALLY discouraged writing this and made a few mistakes I've learned from. Like don't write the entire damn thing without saving once only to have your computer restart. Don't forget to save and then navigate away from the page. And just a bunch of small things that went back to me not saving in time for everything. I think I've picked up a compulsive saving habit by that. But after the fourth time of rewriting this ONE part of the story, can you really blame me for getting discouraged and upset over it? Sorry it took so long, I'm just an idiot who needed to learn things the hard way. Ugh._

 _And this entire problem went back to Cloud and Dropbox not saving the next two chapters I had written in the first place. I had all the way to 19 pre-written and then I switched computers ONCE and it deletes everything off of my Dropbox and Cloud accounts. I have no idea what happened but it amounted to me having to rewrite all of this four different times and I just. Ugh._

 _In the mean time, I actually put that to good use and drew up an official picture to be the cover of this story! It illustrates her mark better than I could write out, so take a look at that! I'll be trying to go back to updating at least every other day- but please don't fault me if I can't make an update and it comes out late. As I said, my college courses are getting harder and that is my top priority. Special thanks to **LadyAllyssa** for keeping my spirits high with the wonderful PM sent that helped me finish this chapter so early- send your thanks to her!_

 _Anyway, enough of my complaining! I've learned my lesson and everything should go over smoothly enough from here on out. Hope you guys still like the chapter, no matter that!_

* * *

 _ **The Morning After**_

The next morning in Fairy Tail was a bit of a hubbub of activity- though not in the way one would think. Not even in the way one would hope it would be. With the roofing of the building gone and falling apart at the seams, Laki and Erza were tasked with fixing the rafters and beams supporting the roof. Though none of them knew it, it was thanks to Romeo that the entire building didn't fall to shambles. He was the one to calm down the petite dragon slayer, after all. Two more hits to the rune barrier and it would have fallen long before the Eclipse Effect wore off of the blue haired lass. And, as most everyone feared, another five minutes in the wind torrents would have caused the entire guild to be completely rubble.

Freed (and Cana, though the brunette wasn't currently in the hall) had made a promise he intended to keep about that night. No one was to hear about what had exactly went down unless it came from the young fire mage himself. The older man could respect those wishes- especially with the knowledge gained about the situation.

In the upstairs infirmary, Wendy lay still. Though she looked almost lifeless laying on the cot, the small and barely noticeable furrow of her brows was enough to let Romeo know that she was alive and okay... Well, alive, anyway. No one knew what caused her to collapse three hours after the eclipse had ended and until Levy showed face in the guild again, none would be able to find out.

Freed was helping Laki and Erza, after all. There wasn't much he could do when his hands were preoccupied.

The first slayer (and mate) to return to the guild was Natsu, who was trailing behind Lisanna. The pink haired man looked like he was about ready for death to come his way with how tired and exhausted he seemed. The way that he took a seat at the bar and promptly passed out against the wooden surface only served to prove suspicion right. The white haired woman, on the other hand, seemed more joyous than ever before. She made no complaint as she relieved Juvia of bar duty and did what she could to hold the fort down until Mira showed up.

About an hour later was when Gajeel and Levy returned to the hall- both looking absolutely exuberant. Master asked that Gajeel assist in reconstruction after the damage Wendy dealt and he gave absolutely no complaint. Well, he started to but was cut off when Levy wrote him out some Iron to snack on before he got started. That shut him up pretty damn quickly and he worked with the condition that he get a snack every other hour- since he'd be using a lot of his magic to create beams and nails all day.

Laxus and Mira came in shortly after and, like with Gajeel, Laxus was put to work as well. Mira soon went to her younger sister's side and helped behind the bar to keep everyone refreshed and fed while they all began their tasks of either shaving down the wood Laki produced that was off-kilter or cleaning up any sawdust. Or iron shavings from Erza (and now Gray) having to shave away at the iron produced. Levy wasn't much help, though she did write up at _least_ twelve blocks of Iron and twice the amount of Steel.

Natsu had been woken up by Lisanna (who had cooked him up a flame 'grilled' chicken- it was still on fire) and he was asked to help everyone out as well. After she tossed those puppy eyes his way, the slayer _jumped_ at the opportunity to heat up Levy's Iron and Steel letters for reshaping. Again, he was promised (like with Gajeel) that he would get a snack for his magic at least every other hour- though he was needing to use more magic than Gajeel was. So it was agreed that he might end up getting more snacks than that- which made Gajeel grumble about how unfair that was.

Once everyone was working and it seemed like the mates had a little time to breathe, the three had gone upstairs to check on Wendy.

They weren't expecting to see Romeo at her side.

Holding her hand.

Lisanna was barely able to hold Mira back from pouncing on the young boy and asking him a million and a half questions- but it seemed like the moment he looked up to see them there, he would be the one interrogating them.

The onyx eyes of the young boy in question looked over to the women and he heaved a heavy sigh. "She's still asleep.."

"We see that," Levy said, walking further into the room. "What happened?"

He flinched at the question and shook his head lightly. "Nothing pretty. She... She was in dragon force and didn't like being in the runes... But..."

Mira came over and stood next to Romeo, her hand on his back. She could tell that whatever happened- whatever he saw- was bearing down on his mind heavily. It wasn't a pretty sight on someone so young and innocent. "It's okay. We're all aware of what happens on an eclipse now," she whispered softly.

He shook his head and bit his lower lip, squeezing Wendy's hand gently. His thumb traced over her knuckles and the silence was more than enough time for him to gather his thoughts. The thoughts that plagued him, that made him rethink everything four hundred times over. "What... What is it like?" When he was met with silence, he cleared his throat and reworded the question. "To be a dragon slayer's mate.. What's that like?"

Before Mira could go all matchmaker demon on the poor boy, Lisanna stepped in and shut the door fully behind her. The door wasn't going to be nearly enough to keep the slayers from hearing the conversation but it would be more than enough to keep everyone else from hearing it. "Why do you ask, Romeo? Did something happen?"

The young man took a very deep breath and nodded. "Last night.. She didn't like the smell of other people on her... Uh..."

"Her hoard?" Levy offered.

Romeo nodded. "Yeah. She was fine, talking to Freed and Cana.. And me.. But then she just stopped mid-sentence and rubbed her face and body over all of the things she had. She did the same thing to the floorboards, too..." A wry chuckle left his thin lips and the ghost of a smile threatened to pull at the corners of his mouth. "It was kind of cute. I'm pretty sure if.. If she wouldn't have had the runes there, the entire guild would have been marked." The smile that once tempted his lips was gone, his brows were furrowed and a frown marred at his youthful features. At sixteen, the look didn't sit well on his face. "But then... She just stopped and screamed..."

The boy took a shaky breath, squeezing his eyes shut as though he was trying to block out the sounds. Or as though he were trying to block out the memory. Maybe the tears. No matter what, the women knew to give him his space and let him continue at his own pace. Mira's hand, soothing on his back, started to rub back and forth without needing to be told to. The small yet significant motions eased a little of the tension in the young mage, but it didn't help everything. Whatever he saw scarred him and it was only a matter of time until he would be able to talk about it. Hopefully, one day, he'd be able to look back at the night without fear. It didn't seem like that would happen any time soon... But they could hope.

"I... I've never seen her so... So..."

When he paused, Lisanna took the chance to speak up. "Just take your time, Ro. We're not going to rush you."

He nodded and muttered a small and watery thanks, thinking back on the memory and taking his time to collect his thoughts more than before. "She looked... At first I thought she was furious... I've never even seen Gajeel or Laxus that mad... Natsu didn't even look that mad when Lucy was tortured by Minerva at the Games... But there was something about it.. She looked," he took another deep breath and furrowed his brows even further, "betrayed."

Levy tilted her head but smiled softly at how courageous he was being. Anything she could do to ease his concerns, she would do without hesitation. With that in mind, she spoke up. "She must have looked pretty scary if she's topped 'Jeel's faces."

He chuckled weakly- but he shook his head. "It wasn't scary to see her like that. I knew she'd never hurt us. It was just... Painful... To see her like that knowing I couldn't help her."

Mira smiled and nodded, patting him on the back twice before resting her hand on his shoulder. "Do you think anyone else thought she was scary?"

"Freed looked like he was about to pee his pants," Romeo admitted with a light laugh. The ladies all giggled at this admission and watched with knowing faces when his eyes grew sad as he looked to Wendy's sleeping face. "She ran Cana out after she destroyed the roof. Said she needed to get away from me."

"Well," Lisanna started, pausing only to take a seat at the end of the bed Wendy was on, "dragon slayers get pretty territorial over the people they care about. The eclipse can make them focus on one person and ignore the others."

"Their mate, right?" he asked, his face unreadable.

The eldest Strauss hummed in acknowledgement and he nodded at her soft admission. Levy shot a pointed glare to the standing, white-haired woman, but didn't speak up.

"Is it bad... That.. I'm okay with that?" he asked, looking back at the oldest woman in the room. "I mean.. We're both still too young for anything but.. I.."

She smiled gently, like a mother would, and dropped down to sit next to the comatose slayer. Her blue eyes trained on Romeo's face and she could see the worry lines starting to show under his eyes- worry lines that he shouldn't have at such a young age. She reached out and held his free hand in both of hers and her tone grew gentle. "Romeo, you might be young, but remember that we are young as well. We each could have had many more dates, met more people, traveled the world... But we didn't. Because we love our dragon slayers more than life itself. But more than that, they give us a home."

Tears lined the young man's eyes and he didn't try and blink them away. In fact, he let them fall freely. "I just... I feel so bad... I couldn't help her.."

"Did she act that violently the entire duration of the eclipse?" Mira pressed on.

He shook his head. "No. I sat with her. I... I sat on the other side of the runes and talked to her."

"Then you did help her," Levy interjected. "Do you remember the first eclipse we had Gajeel to deal with?"

He nodded.

"Gajeel and Natsu were down for three days after that because they fought and used up too much magic during the eclipse. If you didn't stop her, she could have been down for the entire week. Didn't Porlyusica say she should be awake later today and able to move around freely by tomorrow afternoon?"

Romeo paused, looking away from the older women and turning his eyes to Wendy's sleeping face. Without thinking much about his actions, he lifted his hand to brush her bangs out of her face. The girls noticed that her brows relaxed more when he did this- but they didn't say it aloud. They knew he saw it too.

Mira released his hand and looked to Wendy as well. "How do you feel when you're around her, Romeo?"

He smiled a real, gentle smile at that question. "Happy. Accepted. I feel better than I have in a long time... Better than when dad would come home on the weekends before he and mom started fighting. I feel..." His eyes widened a little, though not much. His smile faltered and more tears fell from his eyes. "I feel like she's given me my first real home since they split..."

Lisanna leaned over and placed her hand on Romeo's head. When he looked at her, he noticed that her smile was just as kind and motherly as Mira's was. "That's all you need to know, Ro. You're young enough to start something without having to jump in head first like we did. Take that opportunity." The young man _looked_ like he felt a little better, but there was still hesitation written on his features, so she continued. "Wendy told us that she knew it was you. You don't have to immediately rush into anything because women dragons- and slayers- know well before its time to do anything permanent. You have time to start things right because you _are_ so young. You have all this time that we never had and you should make the most of it, Ro. You can take her on dates, get to know her better, start building feelings so you don't second guess yourself... And you have all the time in your life- in her life- to solidify that. There's no need to rush, dear, you have time."

He nodded, smiling and looking back at Wendy with renewed excitement. It seemed like those were just the words he needed to hear- whether she realized they were or not is unknown, but the look on his face was so much better than the worrisome look from earlier. "I will. I.. I'll take her out to lunch when she gets better!"

Levy laughed and nodded. "There ya go! Ease into it, Romeo, and take your time. You'll know when things start to go your way like that," she offered.

Romeo didn't look her way when he nodded, but he felt better about being by her side. He felt like a lot of weight was lifted from his shoulders and it was a good thing. It was like he could breathe easily again. They were young, but they had time. They had all the time in the world- all of the rest of their lives. They can take things one step at a time. While he was entirely concerned about the turn of events, his worries were eased by those three words. They had time.

"And if you ever need anyone to talk to," Levy continued with a soft smile spreading wide over her features, "you have all these dorks- uh, I mean _dragon slayers-_ to talk to. You have us three here, and Lu-chan, too, when she gets back. You don't have to do this alone, okay?"

He nodded, watching from his peripheral vision as they migrated towards the door. "Thank you," he said softly as they left the room, closing it behind them.

Once again, he was left with his thoughts. He had been previously preoccupied with the thoughts of what it was going to be like and how fast things seemed to be moving between them. After that talk, however, he knew it wasn't fast at all. In fact, the awe and admiration he always seemed to look at the blue haired woman with only seemed amplified as he watched her sleep easily. She knew and she wasn't rushing him. He didn't know how long she knew, but just knowing... Just knowing that she was putting him before herself made his chest swell with happiness and a sense of pride he knew wasn't right to call his own.

"You hear that, Wen-Wen?" he asked her sleeping form, not bothering to wipe at the tears on his cheeks that still seemed to be falling. Though these tears were ones of relief. "I'm going to take you out to lunch when you feel better. We'll go to that burger stand you love and get those chili cheese fries you like so much... And I'll make sure I'm by your side. If I'm not alone, you're not either, okay Wen-Wen?"

Her sleeping face didn't seem to move and, honestly, he wasn't even certain she had heard him. It didn't matter to him, though. No, all that mattered was doing the same thing for her as she did him- make her feel safe and accepted. Mate be damned, he wanted her to at least feel as comfortable around him as he felt around her.

And unbeknownst to him, the three ladies had lingered by the door to hear what he had to say to the youngest slayer.

Lisanna and Mirajane returned to the kitchen with smiles wider than any had ever seen them with before. Young love was such a beautiful thing. Levy was no better as she made snacks for the slayers- even Laxus. They all took the snacks without question- though the mates knew by the soft smiles on their faces, they had also heard the conversation had. They probably also heard what the young man promised their adoptive-younger-sister.

Laxus shocked everyone by openly and loudly saying "I love you, Mira."

To which the barmaid gave a soft giggle and looked back at him with a look in her eyes that mirrored the look in his own; love, adoration, and comfort. "I love _you_ , Laxus."

Lisanna hadn't gotten further than the edge of the bar she was about to walk around when Natsu's arms wrapped around her waist. She sighed and leaned into his hold, that smile on her face showing no sign of leaving any time soon. He rested his forehead against her neck for a moment, his smile echoing the one on her face. "You're so perfect, you know?" he whispered, peppering small kisses on her neck. She only hummed in agreed acknowledgement- and while she didn't fully believe she was, she believed that in his eyes she was. And that's what mattered when she agreed.

Levy had just taken a seat at the bar when Gajeel took a small break to come to her side, his arm wrapping protectively around her waist. She leaned against him happily and shut her eyes for the moment. Young love was truly a beautiful thing. He leaned down and placed a kiss to the top of her head, adjusting his hold on her as she stood up and wrapped both of her arms around his mid section. Wrapped in each other's embrace they swayed back and forth to some unknown source of music (that really only played in their heads, mind you).

"So she knows what he is now?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

Levy nodded against his shoulder. "She has for a while now."

"Really?" Though it was only one word, his tone spoke of the minor shock and awe he felt.

She gave a small laugh at that and nodded again. "Yeah. She told us before we left for the Sabertooth guildhall the other night."

"HEY METAL HEAD, WE NEED MORE SCREWS!" Gray shouted from somewhere well above the second floor.

" _SCREW_ YOU!" Gajeel shouted back, only to laugh shortly after at the (unfunny) pun he had made.

Work resumed without any further complaints (though there was quite a bit of arguing going on, but when _wasn't_ there). The slayers and mates refused to talk about why they all sported the smiles they kept on their faces through everything and even though he wasn't there to see it, Romeo would have thanked them all for the small bout of privacy it offered. Just as the guild- as a whole- was finishing a much needed lunch break (a handful of them already resuming their work), a few unfortunate visitors nearly kicked the doors in.

Unfortunate and unwelcome.

There, in the doorway, stood about fifteen Rune Knights lead by some man unknown to them. After the council had been blown to smithereens (and also after Gajeel, Pantherlily, and Levy left the force) it was hard to get notable captains to lead the squadrons- so it wasn't like anyone knew the name of the poor bastard that was sauntering into _their_ guild with these other knights. "Fairy Tail, we need to speak with your Master immediately."

Pantherlily, Mest, Gajeel and Levy were soon at the doorway, trying to not only stop the Knights from wandering too far in but also to get information. Levy, always the voice of reason, was the one to level with the captain. "Sir, we will bring him to you. I cannot let you further in."

Okay _cannot_ was a bit of a stretch. _Would not_ is more like it, but she wasn't about to admit that. No, she had to start thinking on her feet again before they got in and got torn apart by the mages in the guild. It was commonly known that the words _Fairy Tail_ and _Rune Knights_ just were never supposed to go hand-in-hand. The mages she considered family _still_ held grudges over small things- Jellal's imprisonment after the Oracion Seis, pinning nearly _everything_ on them whether they were at fault or not, over charging the guild with damage costs when they knew the guild couldn't argue it. Levy was _literally_ trying to prevent murder with this.

"Miss McGarden," he addressed her formally with a short bow. "It is a matter of utmost importance that we speak with Makarov as soon as possible, so if you would allow us-"

"She said no, _you ant_ ," the iron dragon growled out.

Levy shot him a pointed glare before returning her attention to the Rune Knight in front of her. "I understand that and I will send for Lily to get him," she paused to look at the exceed and nod to him, "but I _will not_ let you further in."

"Miss McGarden, I will not ask again-"

"And I will not say it again. The answer is no," she said, her narrowed glare finally causing the taller man to halt in his speech. At that moment, Pantherlily took off to go get the master, as requested. "You worked under me for a year, you should know that I do not do something like this without meaning. I'm certain you saw the damage our guild hall suffered last night. It is not safe for you to-"

"INCOMING!"

To prove her statement (that was so rudely cut off), Natsu had tossed down a steel beam he snuck away to smelt into shape. As soon as he saw the knights- and heard Levy trying to keep them from coming in- he had stalked away to help her case out. Dealing with Rune Knights outside on a mission or on location was one thing, but they were certainly _not welcome_ in their guild hall. Not after all the trouble caused by the Knights.

Well, trouble caused by the _guild_ that caused trouble _with_ the Knights- but that was beside the point.

Either way, all Levy knew was that she was thankful for the surprisingly thoughtful.

Well, at least until everyone cringed at how the beam splintered the floorboards upon impact.

"What is all this commotion about?" Makarov asked, walking up to stand next to the ex-knights of his guild. "What is going on that is so important that it warrants a visit from the Rune Knights?"

The captain, whose eyes were wide from the steel beam having fallen so haphazardly that he questioned the safety of the mages around, blinked twice and turned his attention to the short man. Once his composure was regained, he cleared his throat and nodded. "From my understanding, you were harboring the ex-criminal number 100977, code name Cobra, last night during the Eclipse. Is this correct?"

"We, as a guild, were. He has been pardoned, and I would feel much better if you referred to Erik as a free man- past be damned." The master's tone was akin to the ice Gray wielded and the sharp narrow of his aged eyes only furthered the unspoken threat. Perhaps a better analogy would be that his glare and tone was synonymous with the business end of one of Erza's swords.

The Knight cleared his throat and nodded- again. He obviously didn't know how to feel about the threat coming so seriously from such a short and small man. "Yes, we are not here to collect him, if that is what you believe."

The shorter man rolled his eyes- a action he picked up somewhere along the way from the guild members he considered to be his children. "You come storming into the home of my children and I demanding answers about one of my kids. Then you refer to him as a prisoner and by what I assume to be his cell number. What else did you expect me to think?" A snort of laughter and poorly suppressed chuckles were heard from further inside the guild, though it was covered up by a few loud 'coughing fits'. Makarov paid it no mind as he continued. "We are in the middle of rebuilding our home from last night's events. You're intruding on precious time that could spare us from getting soaked to the bone should a storm swell up. What exactly, pray tell, _are_ you doing in my guild?"

The commander nodded and pulled a file from some unknown place on his person. Nobody was surprised by it, though, as Levy and Freed tended to do the exact same thing. "This is a report I was given today. Last night, a surge of magic happened in the northern outskirts of Magnolia. The surge was followed by the poisoning of the wildlife in the immediate area- animals and plants alike. One-ninth of the... _Remaining_ forest... was destroyed by a combination of the toxic fumes and the magic surge. Seeing as how he had been connected to this guild-"

"You want compensation for the damages," the master finished.

A nod from the captain was the initial response.

Levy took a step forward. "Master, I will handle this much," she said, smiling at the elderly man who simply raised his brows at her. After he nodded but didn't move, she assumed he was going to listen to her suggestion and see just how she dealt with this. "Monetary compensation will not be given."

"Miss McGarden-"

"We have three mages in our guild who can restore the damaged forest. If it was poison and magic caused and not caused by fire," she glanced up at Natsu, "or caused by someone cutting it down," she then glanced to Gajeel- who huffed and looked away from her- "then this is a matter that can easily be solved to benefit the natural balance without money."

The captain nodded, thought about her words, and motioned for his men to move out. "I respect you deeply, Miss McGarden, and have since you were my captain. I'm sure I can get you time to get this done- but if it takes any longer than two weeks, I'm not certain I will be the one to stop by next time. This is the most I can grant at the moment.. Please try not to make a fool of my word?"

Levy smiled, finally dropping the formalities and stiff back she held seconds prior. "Thanks! We'll get at _least_ a majority of it replenished by then. If it comes down to it, I'm sure we can find some way to getcha that money."

He nodded and left, closing the doors behind him. Once those doors were closed, Levy had her game face on and she turned around to face the guild before people started talking.

"First and foremost, we need a small team to go out and check up on Kinana and Cobra. Erza, get _Mystogan_ and go after Cobra- he'll feel more comfortable with _Mystogan_ there. Mira, would you join them for Kinana's sake?" she asked, her brows raised.

Mira nodded and saluted jokingly. "Aye aye, captain!~ Hehe~"

"Erza, I trust you have equipment able to get a soil sample. Once they get back, hand it over to Droy and let him assess how bad it is. Nab, you'll need to go with Droy tomorrow for the animals. Juvia, you'll need to go, too, to help with the plant watering and excursion of poison from the soil."

Makarov held a proud smile on his face and he nodded in acceptance. "I see why you were a captain, my child."

Levy blushed a bright red and she rubbed the back of her neck lightly. "I just.. It's just common sense for me to put things like this together..."

The master waved a dismissive hand in front of his face. "Nonsense. Your leadership abilities are remarkable. Mira, Erza, head out in thirty minutes. Will that be enough time to get Mystogan?"

"Yes sir," the red head agreed with a nod. "He is still at my house, so it shouldn't take that long."

"Good. Move on out. Everyone else, get back to work on the roofing!"

* * *

Kinana sat in the middle of the barren wasteland once called a forest, Erik's head resting on her knees. Her pale fingers raked through his wine-colored hair with ease, her tears falling on the flesh covering his high cheekbones. His brows were drawn in pain and a sweat was broken over his flushed skin. He looked to be in a massive amount of pain and from his haggard breathing, she could easily tell that he was, in fact, in such pain. No matter his pain, no matter his problem, Kinana felt utterly hopeless in this situation.

She didn't have the strength to pick him up and carry him back to the guild for Wendy to take a look at his state. She didn't even have the emotional control she usually did and knew that she'd end up breaking down if anyone asked her what was wrong. The worst part was that she _didn't know_ what caused him to drop and faint last night.

Knowing why he did would at least give her an idea on how to help him but... She didn't know. She couldn't help her mate no matter how much she wanted to- no matter how much she felt the need to. But the worst sting came with the knowledge that it was _because_ she didn't know what was going on that there was a possibility that he might be ripped away from her by the clutches of death. The thought of that alone pulled another choked sob from her throat and more tears to fall on his face.

"Erik," she whimpered out, "please... Please stay strong... I promised to be at the guild this morning so people should be coming for us... Please... Don't leave me..."

~ : + : ~

 _Kinana watched her slayer with amusement dancing in her eyes as he hurriedly gathered various plants and roots and placed them in a heaping pile next to where he made her sit down at. She could tell, easily, that he was running on instincts alone- especially if the scales on his arm and under his eyes were anything to show. Every time he brought something new to add to the pile that smelled good to him, he would look at her questionably. Like he was looking for her praise. Like he was watching for her reaction._

 _A small giggle left her mouth as he brought a few more herbs to add to the surprisingly large pile he had created thus far. He turned to her, his eyes narrowed. "What's so funny, Kina?"_

 _She shook her head and smiled widely up at him. "You are."_

 _"How am I funny?! This is important!" he shouted, trying hard to defend himself and his actions. She could almost visibly see the crack in his pride, the panic on his face, and she rolled her eyes at this._

 _"Erik, what your doing isn't funny-_ you _are. You're cute when you're running around like this," she admitted with a soft blush on her pale cheeks._

 _He seemed taken aback by her admission and, without warning, he unceremoniously plopped down to sit in front of her like a child waiting on an answer on if they could skip school or not. "So... You like it..?"_

 _"It's impressive," she said, looking back at the plants he'd gathered. Her hand went out and she caressed one of the herbs that looked like a gorgeous flower and her smile grew soft. "Are they all poisonous?"_

 _"Yeah!"_

 _His excitement absolutely_ floored _her- and not in a bad way. He beamed with an innocent pride she had never seen on his face. His smile was sincere and excited- not a cocky smirk. His eyes gleamed in the blood red moonlight. His slightly puffed out chest reminded her even more of a child. The purple haired woman shook her head and her smile got larger. If he acted this way when he was praised, then she would praise the hell out of him._

 _"I love it," she said, watching as his eyes grew wide and his smile threatened to break his face right in two. "They're gorgeous," she said, referring more specifically to the floral herbs, "and they remind me of us."_

 _He blinked at this, his head cocking to the side a little. At least, until he focused on his hearing._

 _The first thing he heard was the wild fluttering of her heart- which made him further believe what she was saying. He heard her breathing and her muscle movement but when he trained on her person just a little harder, he heard the voice he thought he had lost forever. Like she knew what he was doing (which, she probably did) she told him that the flowers reminded her of herself. Delicate, small, needing protection... And the venomous aspect reminded her of him, how he protected her, how he caressed her and held her so close it was like they weren't two separate beings._

 _And oh boy did his pride absolutely swell at that._

 _Her praises made his head spin, his heart squeeze, and his inner dragon to purr in delight. A sound that echoed as it came from his throat as well. He rested his head on her shoulder, purring even louder when she lovingly ran her hands through his hair. "You're the best, Kina. I... I love you," he admitted softly._

 _She deserved to hear those words._

 _She deserved to hear them way before today._

 _Kinana always told him that she loved him and every time the words came from her mouth, he felt born again. Born anew. Like the blood of the innocent was no longer on his hands. But he had never said it back- his pride and ego getting in the way of telling her how he felt. But he knew that she knew. He knew that she looked at his actions and read between the lines for him and accepted him fully as-is. She never rushed him to say those three words. She never pressed for him to say them. She never argued against him when he had a bad day and took it out by yelling and cursing and screaming at the world around them. She always waited for him to cuddle to her._

 _She waited for him to hold her. To love her. To buy her food or tell her to take care of herself._

 _When he told her to get some rest because she looked like she needed it, she knew what he was saying. When he told her to be safe when he had to leave out for the week, she knew what he was saying. When he called her beautiful, she knew. When he made breakfast for her (and tried his hardest not to burn it), when he gave some of his portions to her when they were low on jewel, when he tucked her in at night when he thought for sure she was asleep, when he listened to her thoughts and her heart..._

 _She knew._

 _But hearing the words aloud? Hearing those three words brought tears to her eyes faster than he could realize that her heart and mind almost literally stopped. One of her small hands clutched tightly in his hair and the other went around his torso and she wept. "I-I love you so... So much..." Her words were watery and a little broken and it made Cobra feel like shit._

 _He should have told her before now, but he could make it up to her. He moved his face a little to pepper kisses along the part of her jaw he could reach. They were sweet, innocent, soothing kisses that only served to make her feel even more elated._

 _"I love you."_

 _Kiss._

 _"I love you."_

 _Kiss._

 _"I love you."_

 _Kiss._

 _Between every single one of the kisses he placed on her jaw, up her cheek, over her eyes, on her forehead... Between each kiss he left her, he repeated those three words she longed to hear so badly. His forehead rested against hers and his hand cupped her cheek, wiping her tears away with his thumb._

 _"I love you, Kina.. You deserve so much better than me... You should have... I should have.. I-"_

 _And the usually shy, reluctant, and embarrassed by affection girl cut him off with a kiss to his lips. Just long enough to get him to quieten. When she pulled back, their foreheads still connected, she turned her gaze to his uninjured eye. "No matter what you think I deserve... I'm more than happy to have you here in my arms. I love you, Erik, and I will wait forever if I have to."_

 _"I'll never make you wait again," he said hurriedly, his eyes determined._

 _She smiled, her eyes still teary. "Then can I hear it... One more time..?"_

 _His face, though set with the look of determination, told her all she needed to know. He wasn't lying to her. He wouldn't lie to her. "I love you."_

~ : + : ~

"Please, Erik... Please..." Kinana whimpered out, holding his cheeks weakly. His breathing was becoming more haggard, less even, and the pain on his face only seemed to get worse. "You can't leave me after last night..."

Through her sobs, she hardly heard the rustling of the leaves in the distance- but she heard it nonetheless. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment. That moment was enough time for her to not only think of an out but also to determine what to do. If it was someone to fight them, she would use the poison plant hoard he had accumulated and use what little magic she _did_ have to complete a takeover that she was learning from Mira. But there was too much hope that it would be someone from the guild. Too much hope.

"Over here!" she shouted out, her voice coming out hoarse. "We're over here!"

"Kinana!" a voice shouted. A familiar voice that, in her state of panic, she couldn't place.

Until the figures drew closer.

Erza and Mira were standing side-by-side with Jellal coming up with them a short few paces behind them. She saw the worry on their faces, the panic on Jellal's that probably mirrored her own panic, and relief on the women's faces. It was Erza who had yelled that.

He was saved.

That's all that mattered.

Jellal raced around the two women and a fourth presence was heard. In that moment, she saw Racer coming up next to them, going as fast as his legs would carry him. The two of Crime Sorciere were at her side faster than the two women and they were watching their guild mate with great concern.

"What happened?" Jellal asked in a hurried tone.

A choked sob left her throat and she just completely _broke_ at the question she didn't have an answer for. Mira was almost instantly at her side, kneeling down to pull the purple haired lass into her arms. She faintly heard Erza state that she was going to survey the area and collect the top soil needed to give them the time they needed. Kinana's sobs shook her body violently, her tears seemed never ending, and her broken wails touched the hearts of the four other mages in a negative manner. She was always so strong- hell, she was able to sit through Cobra's bitching and complaining and cursing and sharp words without batting an eye.

Yet here she was, broken and falling apart at the seams.

Mira held the woman tightly, rubbing her back as she let her fellow barmaid let everything out against her shoulder.

It took about twenty minutes to calm her down and, in those twenty minutes, they had readjusted Cobra away from her. Erza was coming back- the clanging of metal resounding and echoing against the otherwise still air. When all was calmer, Mira was finally able to speak.

"He's going to be okay, Kinana. He's suffering from magic depletion," she said softly, running her hands through the woman's purple locks. "Wendy is in the same position as he is, but they'll both be just fine. He needs to rest somewhere more comfortable and he needs you to look after him to help reduce his fever. Can you do that?"

Kinana nodded against her shoulder again.

"How much magic did he use?" Mira asked in a whisper.

She shook her head and bit her bottom lip, finally pulling away from the sweet hearted she-devil. "N-Not a lot... S-Some guy came too close to the runes l-last night... He broke through the runes and... And he almost killed the man..."

"How long was he using magic for?" Erza questioned, taking a surprisingly gentle tone.

The purple haired woman shook her head and shrugged a little. "M-Maybe fifteen minutes... Maybe l-less.."

Mira sighed happily, contentedly, and offered a reassuring smile. "He should be better by tomorrow morning, but we'll have Porlyusica double check. He'll be just fine, okay? I promise you that."

She nodded, standing shakily. "C-Can we go.. To the guild..?"

"Of course," Mira answered with a nod. "Jellal and Racer can carry him together to make sure he's at least a little comfortable while we move him, right?"

Though it was _technically_ a question, the look in her blue eyes and the tone it carried made it sound more like a demand with a heavy life-threatening threat behind it. And, in all reality, it probably was. The two men nodded- Sawyer gulping silently before he nodded- and bent to lift their comatose friend. Mira wrapped her arm around Kinana's waist and Erza wrapped the barely crying woman's arm around her neck.

"We'll help you back and we'll help you keep up with them. That way you can keep an eye on Cobra," Erza offered softly.

Her response was another choked sob- though this one of joy and less heartbreaking than the last few- and a watery smile. "Thank you so much.."

* * *

While the search party had gone after their unofficial slayer, Levy took the time to attempt a call to connect with Lucy. Laxus said that she had called him yesterday before the eclipse so the small woman would try to take a stab in the dark to contact her... Try to, at least. The lacrima went unanswered after at least three calls and while it hadn't been too long since Levy had seen her blonde best friend, it was still highly concerning. Lucy usually answered. And, unfortunately, to top everything off, the Eclipse was last night and she and Rogue- to the script mage's knowledge- hadn't mated yet.

Which was more than enough to cause worry.

As a last resort kind of option, in an attempt to contact Lucy and see how she was holding up, called the lacrima comm number she had for Yukino. And, unlike the blonde, this celestial mage answered after three rings.

" _Hello? Wh- Oh, Levy! How are you doing?_ " the light haired woman asked with a smile.

Levy offered a weak smile back. "I'm doing pretty good, actually. I tried calling Lu to see how last night went over for your side, but she didn't answer."

" _Oh! Lucy and Rogue mated the night before the eclipse, so I think he's still trying to keep her locked up,_ " the light haired woman admitted, her brows pulling to a furrow and a pout lining her lips. " _But she's been keeping in touch via these comms, so I don't know why she wouldn't answer..._ "

"Oh he actually let her call someone after that?" Gajeel said, walking up to stand behind the script mage. Lisanna had peeked out of the doorway to the kitchen with a broad grin on her face, having heard the admission of the mating thing. Mira was going to have a _hay day_ with this information.

Sting laughed loudly and sat his chin on his mate's shoulder on the other side of the call. " _I thought the same thing, man, but we all talked to them. They look like they're beating the shit out of each other._ " A loud, deep growl came from upstairs. Looking up, they saw Laxus glaring down at them- well, more specifically at the comm in Levy's hands. Sting and Yukino must have heard the growl, though, because Sting was quick to explain. " _Hickeys, man. Rogue looks like Luce punched him right in the fuckin' jaw and she's covered from head to toe._ "

Gajeel's brows furrowed at the information but he soon rolled his eyes. "That runt 'as always been the most territorial man I've ever fuckin' met. If there was a way to claim one seat for th' rest of y'er life, he'd do it."

That got another bark of laughter from the blond slayer next to Yukino. " _Oh, he has. Anyone who takes his seat at the bar or in my office will meet his breath attack._ "

"See? Fuckin' dork ass runt," the iron dragon said with a resounding laugh afterward.

Levy shook her head and smiled. "So everything went over smoothly last night?"

" _Yeah! Really there was no point in the runes, to be honest. Sting ended up just-_ "

" _Yuki, hush-_ " Sting placed his hand over her mouth.

She pulled his hand off of her mouth. " _-creating a nest-_ "

" _YUKINO!_ "

" _-out of every single clothing item in our home,_ " she finished, shoving him to the side so she could hold conversation without him interfering again. " _I didn't realize that I had that many clothes until then, and he's been cleaning them up since early this morning._ "

Everyone on the Fairy Tail side that had heard them laughed loudly, causing the Saber guild master to groan in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Sting, 'Jeel hoarded a complete pile of-"

"Shrimp," Gajeel growled out, shoving his hand over her mouth and glaring at her.

" _You can tell me later, Levy,_ " Yukino said with a smile, " _Lucy and Minerva are calling for a Slayer-Mate's Night._ "

Lisanna finally got the gall to come completely out of the kitchen, her eyes showing nothing but confusion. "But Minerva isn't a slayer's mate, though.."

Sting managed to worm his way back on the screen at that point. " _Oh yes she is. God slayer, not dragon. But she's got the god's mark on her shoulder blade._ "

"Hell, I wouldn't mind adding that dumbass to our slayer's nights," Laxus said loudly, leaning against the railing of the second floor.

Natsu jumped down from the rafters, barely sticking the landing behind the iron dragon, and leaned his arm on the script mage- prompting a growl from the black haired slayer. "Orga's welcome in my books. Anything to keep Laxus from shocking my ass. But now we just need to convince Cobra to join us."

" _Nice entrance, Natsu,_ " Sting said, giving a thumbs up- which was returned by the pink haired man.

"But what about Gray and Juvia?" Lis asked, stepping forward. "He _is_ a Devil Slayer now.."

"Fuck no! Ice princess is on his own here! 'Sides, he's first a ice-make wizard, not primarily a slayer."

"But Laxus is primarily a lightning mage, secondarily a slayer," Lisanna quipped, raising a brow at her mate.

Natsu groaned and removed his arm from Levy, rolling his eyes dramatically. "But he's-"

" _How about this,_ " Yukino spoke up, " _we talk to Gray about it after a month with Cobra joining. If Cobra doesn't join, then you don't have anything to worry about._ "

"He's always been an anitsocial asswipe," Gajeel commented, looking at Natsu from the corner of his mouth. "You know how long we've been tryin'a get him in."

The pink haired mage nodded at this, thought it over for a few minutes and decided. "Yeah, sounds good! But 'nuff of that, how's Luigi?"

There was a silence from the Sabertooth side.

" _Luigi..?_ " Sting asked curiously.

Laxus let out a chuckle at that. "Sis is now fully mated, Natsu."

His boyish smile returned, wide and toothy. "Sweet!"

" _HA!_ " The holy dragon barked in laughter. " _Luigi, that's priceless!_ "

"Lisanna!" Romeo yelled, bursting out of the door on the second floor. "Wendy's waking up!"

The Strauss woman nodded and smiled. "Laxus, will you go call Porlyusica to come back in? I'll head up and check on her. She needs to come back for Cobra, anyway," she said softly, watching as Laxus left for the office before she took off for the second story.

Yukino's brows were furrowed in worry. " _What happened? Is she hurt?_ "

Levy smiled sadly at the screen and nodded. "If a Slayer uses too much magic during the eclipse, they suffer from magic depletion after it's over for... A while. It depends on how much magic they use on the eclipse."

Sting nodded. " _That's why I was always down for the count two days after it happened..._ "

The celestial mage turned to look at him with wide eyes. " _What?!_ "

He shrugged. " _You never thought of why it took us so long for a two-day mission?_ "

The light haired woman paused, thought over the statement, then shrugged. " _I guess that makes sense..._ "

" _I'm guessing the same thing happened to Cobra?_ " the blond man asked curiously.

Gajeel shrugged. "Guessin' so. Freed's runes must not've stuck- which means they took a _serious_ beatin' to get past. That man's runes are damn close to impenetrable."

The nods that came from the Saber's side was the only notion of understanding what was said for a while. After about thirty seconds of dead air, Yukino finally spoke up. " _I'll check on Lucy for you, Levy, and I'll get back to you._ "

"Thank you, Yukino!"

* * *

"I'll head to the guild to let them know we're not dead," Sting whispered, placing a light kiss to Yukino's shoulder.

She smiled at him and nodded. "Alright... But you _are_ coming back to finish cleaning this mess you created."

"Yes ma'am," he said exasperatedly, a smile on his face.

The light haired woman watched as her mate left, the Lacrima comm sitting idle in her hands. She had already tried calling Lucy and Rogue's respective communication devices three or four times a piece with no answer from either end. Feeling fairly desperate, she reached over to her keys, her fingers gliding over Pisces and Libra's keys in a loving manner. Though her fingers lingered a little longer on Libra's key. She was a Libra herself, and the connection she had with the Scales Zodiac member seemed to reflect that what with how close they were.

It took a little bit of time to gather her resolve, but eventually she let out a defeated sigh. Why was Libra one of the two that popped up to protect Rogue's house?

As though the spirit knew of her internal worries, a puff of shimmery light erupted from the center of her bedroom. There stood the tanned spirit, veil still covering her face, and before Yukino could say a word, she was pulled into a hug. A tight, reassuring hug. It washed away some of her worry, but not all of it, and she hugged her spirit back with very minimal hesitation.

"I apologize, Lady Yukino. I didn't think my actions would weigh so heavily on your emotions," the spirit whispered out.

The light haired woman only shook her head. "It's okay, Lib. But..."

"You have questions," Libra said definitively. She pulled back, her soft smile creasing her eyes enough to let Yukino know she was, in fact, smiling. "I may not have all of the answers you seek, but I shall do my best to answer what I can."

The brown eyed woman felt tears prick at her eyes. _This_ was what it meant to be a celestial wizard; the bond that was formed between mage and spirit. To have each others' backs no matter the reason and no matter what inner turmoil was going on. She sniffled and collected herself a little before speaking up. "Thank you... To start, why did you and Leo stop us? I get that they mated, but..."

"Why me?" the spirit finished.

Yukino nodded.

The black haired spirit nodded in return and placed her tanner hand over the mage's to reassure her. "We're actually in the midst of a Zodiac meeting. Leo can push his gate open with the most ease- Virgo and Capricorn falling right after him. The order of the Zodiac is determined by the stars, meaning the mid-section leads as-"

"Leo, Virgo, you then Scorpio, right?" the celestial wizard cut off.

Again, she was met with a smile and a nod from the spirit. "Correct. I sensed you coming up and... Well.. Pushed ahead of Virgo to go through Leo's gate with him."

The light haired woman's eyes furrowed in thought and she shook her head. "You weren't scolded, were you?"

"After explaining my reasoning, no, I was not."

"Good. I would be... Devastated... If you did that for me and then got hurt," Yukino whispered, watching her spirit with hurting eyes. "But, that answers that question... Do you have any more information on what's going on with Lucy?"

Libra's brows furrowed in thought and she shook her head- though Yukino knew better than to accept that. Libra had obviously gotten a message in her head from someone in the Spirit World, which only made the large pair of brown eyes harden a little. At seeing this, Libra held up a finger and her brows furrowed again. The light haired woman nodded, understanding that she needed to wait a moment for confirmation on whatever her spirit was mentally speaking of. So, patiently, she waited.

And it took- literally- three entire minutes of silence (and a plethora of emotions crossing the spirit's face that she never thought she'd ever see) for Libra to speak again. "In honesty, we have information but it's of little to no use. The knowledge we've acquired doesn't balance out with what has happened. There is only one spirit that can answer our pleas and it's going to take a few weeks here in the human world for us to get in contact with him."

Yukino smiled softly and nodded, accepting the information given. "I'm guessing the information... Someone doesn't want it to get out without confirmation on it?"

"My King does not want it out unless he is certain, yes."

Brown eyes widened severely, looking akin to saucers and she gulped heavily. "T-Tell the King... I-I'm sorry for prying... I'm just worried about my friend..."

The spirit actually laughed at this- the sound light, unrestrained, and tinkling. "He understands, which is why I was able to tip the scales in your favor, Lady Yukino."

The mage smiled softly again and nodded. "Um.. Two more and I'll be okay. Do you guys know why Lucy isn't answering us?"

"Yes," Libra answered instantly. "She has gone into heat."

Yukino's brows furrowed again. She wasn't an idiot- she knew what heat was when something went into it... Though she wasn't aware that humans could go into heat- dragon slayer or mate be damned. They were human beings, not animals, no matter how much the slayers resembled animals in their mannerisms sometimes. Before she could voice this confusion, though, she noticed the strange look in Libra's eyes.

The spirit sighed, the action making her veil flutter a little. "I shall explain, then. Long ago, there were four types of dragon; light magic dragons, dark magic dragons, healing magic dragons, and personal magic dragons. Each type had a specific season in which they would go into heat, which typically happened every year after they've been mated. The dragons, following their magical alignment, would mate during their season and in the years following that process being completed, their mates would go into heat."

The mage bit her lower lip lightly, thinking over what she knew to have happened and the order in which it did happen. A light bulb seemed to go off within the confines of her head and she nodded enthusiastically. "Natsu was the first of us to mate, followed by Sting and then Laxus- and that was in the Spring. So light magic dragons were Springtime oriented, right?"

"Correct."

"And," the light haired woman continued, thinking over her words during her brief pause, "Cobra mated before Gajeel... Rogue was the last one to mate, and it's currently Autumn. So that was their season?"

"Yes," Libra answered, her tone of voice speaking the praise she never really voiced. "You've met one personal magic dragon- Zirconis. Their season was Summer."

Yukino thought it over again, taking a moment to collect her thoughts once more. "So that means when Wendy comes of age, she'll mate with Romeo during the Winter... But that still doesn't explain why Lucy went into heat in the same year."

The spirit nodded sadly, and though her smile was still in place, it was obvious it was a sad smile. "That much I cannot speak of- by request of My King. I can let you know, however, that you will be informed of the reason why very soon."

The mage smiled widely in response to the spirit's words, her arms soon returning to being around the comforting woman.

"I seem to remember," Libra started as she wrapped her arms around her 'master' in return, "you had another question."

Yukino nodded and took a deep inhale, biting her lower lip gently. "It's about the stardress thing... Would you mind if you, Pisces and I worked on my magic pool..? That... That was my biggest problem."

The spirit laughed once more at her 'master's' concern and nodded. "Of course. Should everything fall into place properly, you shall have another joining us as well."

~ : + : ~

Sting walked into the guild hall, a little bummed out that Yukino hadn't joined him this morning. He had sat there with her as she attempted to call Lucy and Rogue several times and if they hadn't answered yet, he had no idea how she was planning on getting information out of them. Then again, he wasn't entirely sure _what_ his mate was planning- speaking to the two most recently mated or not. Furthermore, there was a bad feeling that just accompanied the thought of her attempting to go over to Rogue's house.

Rogue was the most territorial of the slayers and mating only amplified that feeling of territory and possession... Which spelled trouble for anyone and everyone who got too close.

His thoughts were cut off by a yell of happiness.

"STING!" Lector shouted, running as fast as his small legs would carry him to his best friend.

Frosch wasn't too far behind, but by the way the green exceed kept looking behind the slayer rather than at him... Sting knew Frosch was looking for Rogue and Lucy. And they weren't going to be leaving the shadow dragon's house any time soon. At not seeing the two in question, tears lifted to the green exceed's eyes.

"Is Mama and Rogue not with you? Frosch misses Mama and Rogue.."

Sting bent down to the exceeds' level, his right hand on Lector's back as the red cat clung to his leg. His left hand, however, went out to rub the top of Frosch's head. "Well, I have exciting news about them, Fro."

This seemed to put a spark of hope in those large, watery eyes.

The guild master then noticed that the entire guild had gone silent at this and everyone was looking at him and the little interaction happening in the middle of the hall. He could feel Orga and Minerva's stares, he could see Rufus watching him slyly as he filled an order made by another mage- who was also looking at him, and he could so easily tell that Dobengal was listening in even if the ninja wasn't facing the blond. Every member waited with held breaths at whatever news this might be- though his teammates knew what it was.

It was more like Orga, Minerva and Rufus couldn't believe he was actually telling the most innocent member of their guild what had happened. Exceed or not.

"Rogue and Lucy will be together forever, Frosch. They're mated, like Yuki and I are," Sting said, a soft smile playing at his lips.

The little green exceed's eyes were wide for a moment and all was silent.

He could _feel_ the tense excitement in the air as everyone waited for the response.

And, as if realizing what that meant, Frosch began jumping up and down. "Yaaaay! Mama won't have to leave Frosch and Rogue anymore!"

A breath of relief left everyone present, followed by loud cheering.


	18. The Forewarning

_**Author's Note** : Hey hey!_

 _So this chapter is my first real attempt at writing a fighting scene so I'm more than a little worried about how it came out, if I'm being honest here. But, whatever! This is kind of a filler-ish chapter? Not really but it's a buffer chapter to ease into what's going to be happening in less than five chapters, so it's almost like one but it's not. This fight and things that happen in this chapter will have serious implications and effect in later chapters._

 _It also tells about something that's 'bout to go down. - That something being the actual plot behind this story. So we're finally getting into the good shit! That's good, right?_

 _Anyway, I hope this isn't too boring for people who dislike fighting chapters and I hope I did decently enough for it. Love you all!_

* * *

 _ **The Forewarning.**_

Four.

Four days.

On the fourth day after the eclipse, the Thunder Legion (and Laxus, obviously) had set out for a mission. It was a relatively simple mission- but it was a simple mission that spelled out hell for Laxus. They took an importing job in Hargeon, which meant a number of different things. The first was that they had to be up and at the docks at the crack ass of dawn. The second was that there would need to be someone on the boat at all times (read as: Freed. Freed was on the boat). And, finally, the third was like his nostrils just got sexually assaulted by _fish_ and _salt_ and it was _disgusting_. Laxus bemoaned this job but, unfortunately, it was an S-Class mission requesting a Dragon Slayer.

Without Lucy there, Team Natsu didn't want to take it.

Hell, none of them were in the right mindset to take it.

Erza was obviously beating herself up with the amount of jobs she was taking. Gray and Juvia were doing nearly the same thing, but less... Destructive... Considering that when they returned from a mission, they actually took the time to lock themselves away from the world for a while. These were just petty day-jobs, day requests, that they were taking... But even still. It was obvious to see that they were taking the news of what happened with Lucy pretty damned hard.

Cana hadn't touched a barrel since that night.

Freed was coping- somehow. Bickslow obviously was compartmentalizing things by turning his anguish into another emotion; vigilance. He seemed more like a respectable mage right now than he had ever seemed before- what with his loud laughs and perverse jokes. Evergreen cried it out any time she was able to be alone...

But the worst, in Laxus's honest opinion, had been all of the slayers. Even Cobra- that massive dickweed- had _the look_ in his eyes. The one that spoke of the one thing dragons- and dragon slayers- had an instinctual vow to never feel.

To feel as though they had betrayed someone.

Dragons were fierce, extremely loyal to their mates and clan alike (or kin, depending on which slayer you ask), and did everything in their power to retain happiness for those select few people. It seems as though each and every dragon slayer they had looked at Lucy nearly the same way. A sister. A best friend. A conversation partner. A beautiful light to the guild. A woman that deserved the world.

Yet they all felt like it had been _them_ that betrayed her- for good reason, mind you, but even still. Cobra felt bad- that was obvious- but Laxus saw the moment that he felt like the biggest dick ever. Kinana had told him that it was because of Lucy that she ever had any confidence at all in the guild. The blonde coerced her to learn takeover magic from Mirajane, gave her a boost to contact the poison dragon slayer, and even spoke in his defense for him. If it hadn't been for Lucy, he wouldn't have his mate. And that information, obviously, weighed heavily on the ex-convict of a man.

So heavily that the next day, _he_ was the one who approached the other slayers about finally joining their bi-monthly slayers night tradition.

Natsu groaned about this, but agreed happily nonetheless.

Another sharp wave of _raw fucking fish_ slapped Laxus in the face, effectively pulling him from his thoughts.

And he groaned out loudly- in severe annoyance.

All he wanted was to be back at the guild and to spend time with his mate like the other slayers got to. _They_ didn't have to start taking jobs until one week after the eclipse. Yet here he stood, only _four fucking days later_ in Hargeon, getting assaulted by the worst smells that have ever graced the planet.

The importing job was easy- five import ships would dock in early in the morning and three more closer to nightfall. Fiore was getting in the last bit of supplies they needed in order to survive the winter and this was a new trading partner. It was no wonder the _kingdom itself_ had the request put forth to Fairy Tail. Freed put small, passable runic walls on the ship so that nothing questionable could pass through them. Bickslow had his babies checking literally every box and ever nook and cranny on the ship without having to step foot there. And Laxus took moments to sniff out the crates and boxes for anything tampered with or rotten.

So far- on the final shipment for the night- the only thing that showed up bad was one rotten tomato on the first ship that came through hours ago. The rest were fine, but that one was at the bottom of the crate and seemed to have been picked just a smidgen too early anyway.

Not like Laxus cared at that moment.

All he wanted to do was to _get away from this godawful smell_.

"Alright! Clear!" one of the sailors shouted out, giving a salute to a group of four down on the docks. A group that consisted of Evergreen (the only one of them other than Freed that could decently speak with authority figures), a Rune Knight, a General from the Royal Army, and the official imports inspector.

"Alright! Set up to haul out!" the inspector shouted back.

"Yes sir!"

 _Their shouting back and forth did not help his headache at all_.

Freed left from the boat two minutes later- assumedly after taking down the runic barriers- and met up with Evergreen quickly. Bickslow's eyes stopped glowing that almost eerie- yet comfortingly familiar- neon green color and his babies floated lazily back to his side. It took Laxus less time to walk (or rather, Jog) over to the visored man than it took for all of the totems to return to his side.

"Fuck this place. Fuck this shit. It smells godawful here and I'm pretty damned sure my nose is about to burn the fuck off," Laxus grumbled angrily.

The visored man nodded. It was more of an acception of the statement than anything else. Before the whole ' _found out about Lucy's pain_ ' thing, he would have given a loud and distorted cackle at Laxus's words. A cackle that the lightning dragon would never admit to missing.

"C'mon man, lets go grab a drink," he said, looking the seith mage in the eyes. When he went to retort, Laxus rose a brow. "And I'm not taking no for an answer."

Bickslow sighed. "I really don't feel up to it..."

"I know you don't, that's why we're going."

There was a blink of now-red eyes from behind the metal grate hiding them from the rest of the world. "That makes no sense."

"Makes perfect sense," the blond man retorted. "You need something to relax before you run off with a man from liking the feeling of a stick being shoved so far up your ass that I can see it in your throat."

This, _finally_ , got a laugh from the mohawked man. It wasn't the cackle he wanted, but shit, Laxus would take anything at this point.

After all, Bickslow was like his brother.

"Alright, alright. Just to assure you that I don't plan on changing my ways with the ladies anytime soon," the seith mage retorted.

Stormy blue eyes rolled dramatically. "Bout time you came back. I was starting to think you'd turn into a fucking scarecrow."

"I'd rather not have a stick in my ass constantly, thank you," he quipped back.

A smirk played on the dragon's lips and he felt a little relieved. Finally, at least _someone_ was recovering. "You sure as hell had me thinking differently."

The acrobatic man sighed and shook his head. "That news... Hit hard, man."

"Trust me, I know. You got the soft shit from Jiji, I had to deal with a screaming shadow dragon that made the slayers feel like ten pound sacks of assholes. You got the news so much better than I did, and then the next fucking day I had to hear about my sister getting marked by that dick that blew up in our faces." The muscular man rolled his eyes again and shook his head. He had no qualms with Rogue at all- if anything, he was happy for his sister. A little more protective, yes, but happy nonetheless. "Don't blame yourself, man. Trust me on this one. She's not gonna like any pity looks or worship bullshit. If anything, that kind of shit might run her out the door again."

"Yeah... I get that... But it's gonna be damn hard," Bickslow admitted with a shake of his head.

"Hey, guys, we're gonna go get the hotel room," Evergreen said softly.

The two tallest men of the team nodded her way and watched silently as Freed and Ever walked off in silence. There was no doubt as to what was going through their minds. But, Laxus could handle Bickslow better than he could handle the other two. And, honestly, he knew that if one was feeling better then the other two would come around a little faster.

"I'm gonna let you in on a secret that better not leave your fucking mouth or else I'll zap your dick off," Laxus grumbled out, side glancing at the man.

At this, Bickslow seemed intrigued. Not as much as he would have before Lucy took off for a Sabertooth getaway. Before then, he would have leaned close and babbled on and on about being the only person to be able to keep a secret on their team in order to get the blond to tell. Now, however, the only thing he did was look the blond's way with a brow raised. Well, he hoped that's what it was. He couldn't necessarily see _everything_ behind that visor.

"Blondie told me not to say shit, but she actually likes your playful pervert shit. Said if I told you, she'd be pissed because it might change how you are or make you even more of a perv."

A cackle of a laugh left the seith mage and it honestly warmed Laxus's heart to hear. "Seriously? When the hell was this?!"

"Mmm. After the Games?" he offered, thinking back to the little talk the two blondes had on the second story of the guild. The guild that was partying their livers away at winning. "We just got back and you were shit-faced talking about lesbian dinosaurs or some shit that had her laughing way too hard. I swear I thought she was gonna pass out because she couldn't breathe."

Bickslow shook his head, a smile now on his face. It wasn't as bright as they were previously, nor as strangely perverted or twisted, but it was there and that's what mattered.

"So why are you telling me this now, Boss Man?"

"Simple," he said, fully turning to face his partner. "She can see right through people, but you can probably help make her laugh when she gets back. If you don't, she's gonna feel like shit for telling everyone and feel guilty about it. But you've always been able to make her laugh so hard she cries."

"Wait what?"

Laxus sighed heavily and shook his head. "You know how she is. Makes friends with everyone under the sun, makes them feel comfortable around her.. She's gonna make Sabertooth relaxed and shit around her. When she gets back- whenever she decides to come back- things are gonna be tense around her," he said. His eyes betrayed the worry he felt even if his tone seemed matter-of-fact. Freed might have been his best friend but Bickslow was his _brother_. He and the seith mage knew one another from when Laxus was about thirteen years old... And after the seith mage joined the guild, they've been inseperable ever since.

Well, inseparable all up until the muscular man's excommunication.

But nobody spoke of that around him.

And here he was, trying to hold his hand out to his brother. But he was getting lost in thought.

 _Back to the present, Laxus, get out of your own head_.

"What I'm saying is that I'll help you out in any way you need. If there's anyone in the guild... Anyone at all... That will make her feel more comfortable coming home," Dreyar started again after a pause he had taken, "it's gonna be you."

The two fell into a silence together and Laxus's eyes turned out to the sun setting against the sea's horizon. There was so much fucking salt around here- _salt and fucking fish_ \- that Laxus almost didn't pick up the scent of Bickslow's tears about two minutes into the silence. Almost. But the soft breeze picked up ever so slightly- just enough to blow that smell right into his olfactory organ. Worry and panic gripped the heart of the lightning dragon and he looked back at his brother with wide eyes. He was _certain_ he had said something wrong and made the man feel worse.

That wasn't the case, though.

There was a soft, pained smile playing at Bickslow's mouth. His eyes were creased in happiness that was finally showing through the sadness that clouded everyone's hearts. "You really think that?"

"I know that, man," he nodded. "Natsu's damn good at shoving depression to the side and Levy's gonna be more focused on her friend than herself. You know how that tiny ass girl is. Mira's taking it hard but holding her ground... It's just gonna be us five to treat her as normally as we can. We need your ass to be cackling, jumping around, and cracking jokes. So tell me what's on your mind already."

The visor came off. Bickslow held the thing in his hands, his thumbs grazing over the metal work that honestly made him look like a knight. Red eyes- both red in color and red from the tears- looked out to the setting sun. "She lost a baby, man. Well, a spirit, but... You know we've pulled all-nighters just talkin bout that... Our feelings towards our magic and the spirits and souls we hold close..."

"Nearly came unglued when I saw the bags under her eyes," Laxus admitted honestly with a nod.

Which, thankfully, pulled a small laugh from the guild's resident 'pervert'. "I think the only person who knows how she feels 'bout that shit like I do is the tiger wizard. Y'know, from the games? Kino or somethin... But I _know_ what they mean to her. And to think that she gave that up for me... For you... For all of us... And _I didn't fucking see it_ kills me."

"None of us did, Bix-"

"Shut up, man, this is the only time I'm gonna be talking about this shit," the seith mage snapped out, his eyes glaring at his surrogate brother.

Laxus held his hands up, palms out, in surrender. Then, he nodded for the other to continue.

Bickslow ran a hand through his royal blue mohawk, musing it up enough to make it look _less_ like helmet hair. "Don't tell me she hid it well. I called her out every other time- when she left a key behind because it was a day they couldn't be summoned or because of an argument or somethin. Every other time. I can see her soul and it used to be so bright... If anyone should have seen it- past her team- it was me."

The thunder dragon wanted, so badly, to snark back... But he wasn't sure if his teammate was done yet. And, honestly, he put up sound points.

"Hell, even after the Games when she was tortured in front of everyone... Her soul still shined on- bright and blinding as ever," he whispered out. There was a crack in his voice when the word _tortured_ came out, but he wasn't going to get laughed at for it. The blue haired man shook his head and his hands dropped- his visor hanging from his index and middle fingers of his left hand. "I noticed it wasn't as bright when we came back. It wasn't that same neonish rose gold color. It looked.. Muted. Kinda like a dusty rose kind of off-pink. And before you say anything, I _have_ to know my colors like this to know what their soul means, so keep that comment to yourself."

A snort came from the team leader, but he still kept his mouth shut.

"I honestly just figured the year apart muted her color like that," the man said sadly. His eyes, still trained on the sunset, seemed more distant. He was searching his memory for the moment he saw the wisp of an orb sitting over her heart. "You know, hers is at the _Anahata_?"

"Which point is that?" Laxus asked, raising a brow.

 _Does he honestly think a man like me would remember all these weird ass terms?_

"The fourth. Over your heart," he finished. "So few people have their souls situated there... So few. The only other person I know of to have their soul at the _Anahata_ is Wendy." His red eyes were cloudy, thinking on his memories to see if he could notice now when things went wrong. He was shaking his head soon after, though. "I think I fooled myself. When I saw it, she was talking to Mirajane and I thought Mira's silver soul was just reaching out to Lucy's. Y'know, like souls tend to do when people are close. But.. I think... Looking back on it, I think those might have been cracks.."

"Cracks in her soul?" Laxus asked on a whisper.

Bickslow nodded slowly. Sadly. "Maybe. Sometimes it happens when tragedy happens to someone who can't handle that much pain."

The blond bit his lower lip and nodded. The only other time that he knew about a cracked soul was when Bickslow commented on his own on Tenrou island. The man has, since then, said it's been repaired but... "How long did it take to fix mine?"

A bark of a laugh left the blue haired man and he shook his head, a crazy smile lifting his mouth. "Ain't no fixin yours, Boss Man. Y'er too sinful- oW SHIT!"

Bickslow lifted a leg in a strange manner when Laxus shocked the _fuck_ out of him. The smile on the dragon's face, however, was unmistakable. His friend- his brother- was finally coming back to him. Finally. "Not what I meant, dickhole, and you know it."

The borderline maniacal laughter that erupted from the seith mage's throat was welcoming. It was almost like nothing had happened. Almost. "Nah, really. There ain't no fixin a cracked soul. It'll always have small cracks in it, but y' can make em smaller. Took us Thunder Babies bout two weeks t' get yours smaller. Once Luly came 'round they got smaller too. Took her 'bout a month."

 _'Thunder Babies! Thunder Babies!'_ his totems cried out happily, making it the first thing they've said in days.

"So it takes-"

"Don't go thinkin like that. It all depends on Luly. How soon she lets people in and lets people help her," he said, cutting his leader off with a minor glare. "Ain't no time frame on the healing process, man, you should know that."

No matter the new revelation that could have been horrible news, Laxus gave a smirk. Bix was calling his sister by the nickname he gave her again. He was talking how he was most comfortable speaking again- in that weird, accented inflection. "Nice to know it took you talking about this to get you back."

Bickslow shrugged. "It's whatever. Just decided that if she needs me t' be me t' feel better, who am I do deny the sis?"

 _'Sis! Sis!'_

A bark of laughter left the lightning dragon as he shook his head. The sun was, now, almost completely beneath the sea's horizon. A peaceful silence fell over the two men, who both felt better now that things have been talked out. Laxus had, in fact, made a promise to Lucy that he intended to make good on- even if it did fall through for an entire year there. He had to keep everyone together, now, and if that took him having heart-to-heart conversations with each and every member of their guild... No matter how uncomfortable that made him, he would do it. He would do it for his sister.

But, before his thoughts could take his mind someplace he honestly didn't want them to take it, there was a scent change in the air. It was carried by the sea's breeze and it made Laxus stiffen. His back was ramrod straight, his hands now clenched at his sides, and he was unable to hide his sudden shift from his teammate. Not that he wanted to hide it from Bix.

"We have a problem," the blond whispered, his body fully turning to face the sea and his eyes swept over the waters.

Bickslow moved just a little- just enough to stand right next to his leader. Even if his sight wasn't as good as a dragon slayer's, two pairs of eyes were better than one. "Do I need to get Eve and Frefre?"

Stormy blue eyes narrowed. The breeze was coming _from_ the sea- meaning for the scent to be carried on the wind, it had to be coming from the area. "I don't know yet. All I know is that it suddenly started smelling like decomposition."

"Shit," Bix muttered, shoving his visor back on quickly. "If there's a body, I might be able to catch soul remnants," he offered as he activated his Figure Eyes in order to do a sweep of the area.

The leader nodded, keeping his eyes out for anything strange as well. They both knew that so long as there was muscles on the corpse, there would be at least the tiniest remnants of the soul that once filled the body. And since skeletons didn't smell like decomposing meat, it was their best bet to have the man do a sweep of the area.

But, even with the nose of a dragon and the eyes of a seith mage, nothing was seen. Nothing was heard over the sound of the ebb and flow of the waves crashing into the docks. Nothing was smelled over the almost overpowering scent of _fish and motherfucking salt_. Gods, seafood was forever ruined for Laxus by this day alone. Even still, the two stood there for a good twenty minutes in silence.

Twenty minutes of tense silence.

"D'ya think someone fell overboard and is just now floatin up?" the blue haired man asked.

To which Laxus shrugged. "No idea. Better safe than sorry, though, and I'm sure the families would like to know no matter who- or what- we find. I mean, I know-"

His words cut off quickly as a new scent made its way to the air. Ore. Raw, untouched, not-purified ore. It wasn't like iron ore, either; gods know everyone in Fairy Tail knew that smell, dragon slayer or not. Damn Gajeel. But it didn't smell like gold ore, silver ore, platinum ore... Hell, not even copper ore. He knew those scents thanks to the mountains, but this wasn't an ore he was familiar with.

But it was _definitely_ an ore. Slightly metallic, slightly earthy, way too tangy and sharp, hints of raw gemstones, and potent. Well, potent to him, anyway. The scent was strong and it mixed with the smell of decomposition too well. Like the two smells had been mingling since the dawn of time. And it was highly disturbing. It was even more disturbing when the slayer noticed that this new mingling scent of death and metal was _overpowering_ the fish and salt smell he had internally been complaining about all fucking day.

"What's up, what changed?" Bickslow asked in a hushed whisper so low only Laxus could hear it.

"Ore," he answered quietly. "But not one I've smelled before."

Things went still for another five minutes. Another five, exhausting minutes. The sun had long since fell beneath the horizon line and the sky was clear- unclouded- and _glittering_ with the stars his sister loved so much. He let out a small sigh, wondering why the hell this scent was here and why the hell it left such a bad taste in his mouth. And it wasn't one of those _it smells so strong I can literally taste it_ things (though that was the truth too), it was just the bad feeling in his gut.

Bickslow shook his head. "I ain't doubtin' ya at all, Boss Man, but I think we should go back and get Eve and Frefre for a search."

Laxus nodded. "Yeah. Sounds good."

The two, simultaneously, turned around; Bickslow _shrieked_ like a woman in a horror film and jumped at least thirty feet in the air. Laxus jumped as well and was wholly unable to keep the shock from his face but...

 _Fucking Bickslow_.

Standing about fifteen feet away from them was a cloaked figure- one that neither mage knew. Though cloaked, it wasn't as though the cloak covered her figure- no, her cloak was a little like Rogue's cape. But with an added hood. And white.

The woman herself seemed wholly unnatural. Her skin was such a fair, pale shade that it almost looked like the color of Lisanna's guild stamp. Her hair was multi-dimensional, having reds, oranges, and yellows in the beach curled tresses that gave the honest impression of fire. The cloak was a white that was slightly lighter than her skin and had golden hemming to it, which obscured any outfit she wore with how it tied together at her neck. The hood had a point to it, and while the hood itself ended right at her forehead, the pointed flap made that part of the fabric fall to the tip of her hero-shaped nose. Her eyes were blank- absolutely blank. No pupil, no iris... Just unnerving white depths. Her figure was as most Fairy Tail women's were- an hourglass. A shapely one, at that.

She was barefoot. But it was then clear to Laxus that this woman was the source of the scent.

If she had been standing behind them, it made perfect sense as to why the smell was so fucking strong. And it thoroughly unnerved him to know that she had been able to sneak up on him. Bickslow's reaction was worth his own slight surprise- but now he was _beyond_ unnerved. No part of her flesh seemed marred, yet she smelled so strongly of decomposing muscles. He heard no heartbeat. He heard no breathing.

"The Prophet's Knight and one of the seven remaining of the Kindred Draconic Alliance. The Lightning Dragon, I see."

Well, she was speaking. So she wasn't _dead_... But it felt so much like she should be. Her voice was just as creepy as her soulless eyes and her porcelain skin, too, sounding monotonous and empty. But it had a strange _echo_ to it that just made it worse.

"It appears he was correct in predating this motion. I shall uphold my end and give forth two messages," she spoke, her face turning to Bickslow- who looked like he was about ready to crawl out of his skin. The goose bumps on his flesh mirrored Laxus's, too. "Remember this, Knight. When the Prophet awakens, you must ignore the Warrior and stay by her side to assist your Princess."

Talk about cryptic and confusing as fuck.

Neither of them knew Princess Hisui very well, Bickslow wasn't an actual knight of any sort, and _warriors_ was a long dead term for fighters. There were no real fighters of that kind anymore, either. _Draconic_ caught his attention, but he was no dragon either. A dragon _slayer,_ yes. But a dragon? No.

Her head turned to Laxus at that moment, doll-like in the movement. "Seven dragons, seven mortals, a god, two Ladies and a Princess will be your totals. Time will show you the path you take but do not rush. All important things happen in sanctions of 5 day periods."

When she began walking towards them- her footsteps making literally _no sound at all_ \- the two men split apart like she was going to kill them. In truth, they had no idea. Her face hadn't changed one bit since she started talking to them. Not at all. It was still deadpan without proper expression of any sort. The two men watched with wide eyes and bated breath as she walked right past them- and right off the edge of the dock.

The moment she dropped, there was no splash. No movement of the water. Nothing like that.

And the scent completely vanished.

"She was the source of the scent, huh?" Bickslow asked, still not daring to move.

"Yeah." Laxus answered, his tone just as tense as his teammate's had been.

"Anything else?"

"No heartbeat. No breathing. Nothing."

The seith mage nodded, accepting the answer without question. "No soul, either. Didn't even have remnants. Like it never existed in the first place."

The two were silent for another full two minutes before the seith mage spoke up again.

"Hey Lax?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm up for that drink now."

"Yeah. Me too."

* * *

 _Earlier that same day..._

Lucy smiled widely, her right hand entwined with Rogue's left one as they walked side-by-side. Dressed properly in black yoga pants, a black (long sleeved) v-neck t-shirt, white and blue tennis shoes and a blue scarf, she held little to no problem walking up the mountainous terrain on the path to the guild hall. Rogue _finally_ relaxed in his clothing, but her request is what made him do so. She'd gone snooping through his closet while he drew her a bath and found a few pair of dark blue jeans- and a pair of black jeans. And when she pulled a pout when he refused to wear them, he caved.

So here he was, standing next to her with a scowl on his face... In a pair of black jeans, his favorite long-sleeved gray shirt, his brown boots, and his hair up in a pony tail. Again, a request made by his mate.

Though it was mid-November and crawling up on December, the weather wasn't all too bad just yet. Jacaranda _was_ further south than Magnolia was- three hours to the south- but it was only enough to make a minor difference. Snow usually hit Magnolia sometime mid-December, while Jacaranda didn't typically see snow until around mid to late January.

In addition to that, it was around noon- making the autumn weather a little warmer currently from the sun. If it got too cold later, Lucy would ask Virgo to get a jacket for her.

"Lost in thought?" Rogue asked casually, watching her from the corner of his eyes.

She blinked twice and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, just a bit. That obvious?"

"Little bit," he replied, his scowl being replaced temporarily with a soft smile. "You bite your cheek when you think too hard."

A light blush dusted the apples of her cheeks that had nothing to do with the decently chilled breeze. "Shut up," she pouted.

He chuckled, releasing her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulder and tug her against his side. While it _was_ to get the pout off of her face, it was only a bonus that the guild's doors opened up at that time with one of the members making a dramatic exit from the hall. Lucy's brow quirked at the man who stood there, shocked, before he turned around and raced back inside.

"Dear gods, here we go," Rogue grumbled under his breath.

Her laughter at his this almost diminished his discomfort.

Almost.

The _second_ their feet were on the wooden floors of the guild, an uproarious shout of _congratulations_ absolutely _assaulted_ their ears. With Rogue's hearing already advanced and sensitive enough, it caused the poor guy to cringe pretty sharply.

"THERE'S THE CASANOVA!" Orga bellowed, loudly laughing seconds afterward.

A growl settled in his throat that made everyone laugh loudly at. Hell, Lucy even giggled softly at the response.

Yukino and Sting approached- though the blond stayed closer to Rogue and a good five feet away while Yukino fully approached Lucy. This caused another growl to leave the shadow dragon slayer... Which got him a light punch to the arm from his mate. And a light glare.

"So how long did the heat last?" she asked. The confusion written all over the newest couple's faces prompted her to explain herself. "Libra told me."

"Ah," Lucy said softly and nodded. "Three days. I don't know if it's just my mark or if it's like this every time, but it glowed gold the entire time."

"Gold?" Sting asked curiously, his head tilted.

The response was two shrugs.

"MAMA! ROGUE! FRO MISSED YOU!" Frosch shouted, running as fast as the exceed's legs would carry. Right into Lucy's arms. While Rogue didn't mind it, and found it rather cute if he were being honest, it still sparked a small amount of jealousy in him. But he didn't know if it was because Frosch ran to Lucy before him or if it was because Lucy's attention had been taken from him since the moment they walked into the guild.

Without much further hesitation- and several arm punches from Lucy to Rogue for his possessive growling at almost literally _everyone_ coming too close to Lucy- their little group of seven (and two exceeds) took their seats at their unofficially designated table. Lucy, Yukino and Minerva all gossiped like it would be their last breaths while Sting, Rogue, Orga and Rufus all talked more about actual things that 'mattered'.

Like how Orga was officially added to slayers nights and how Cobra had finally decided to come to the next one for a reason unknown to the light dragon. Or how Rufus and Freed had been speaking near daily and developed a strange kind of friendship. Or even how Freed and Orga both continuously laughed at the fact that the god slayer had mistaken his name for _Freebird_. To which Rogue shook his head with a smile and chided the man for having too much music on the brain.

"So," Lucy said as she addressed everyone at the table with a raised brow, "I have two promises to keep, so why don't we do both at the same time?"

"Two promises?" Rogue asked, his head tilting in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

The blonde smiled toothily and looked over to Yukino. "I promised Yuki I'd train her and I promised Orga a fight~"

Everyone blinked at the bluntness of the statement. "You sure bout this, Shortstack?"

She nodded, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth. "It's a spar, so I don't expect us to go that far... Besides, once we start and get a bit into it, we should have an idea of who would win if we were actually going at it."

The teal haired man nodded and smiled wildly. "Aw, hell yeah! I'm pumped for this shit!"

"Lucy..." Rogue started as though trying to warn her of something.

She shook her head. "They're promises, Rogue, I can't turn them down. Especially since Stache Face knows about by promise to Yuki."

"Wait what?" Minerva asked, raising a small brow. "I get the whole not wanting to break a promise thing, but what does the King knowing have to do with anything?"

"Maybe I can explain," Yukino offered with a soft smile. "Celestial Wizard Magic is promise based and promise bound. Our contracts with our spirits are basically just _giant_ promises that have been written down and memorized by us. Each of the promises have one small loophole- like, for instance, if Virgo wasn't supposed to be summoned on Thursdays and the war with Tartaros hit its high point, she would still be able to summon Virgo."

Rufus cleared his throat and furrowed his brows from behind his mask. "So the promises can break under dire circumstances?"

"Yeah," Lucy answered with a nod. "But more than just keeping these promises, our magic is based off promises and trust. Which equates to something easy to understand... The more promises a mage breaks, the less trustworthy they are. Before my ordeal with Loke-"

"You rang, Princess?~" the lion spirit said, forcing his gate open at the mention of his name to stand next to the blonde woman.

Who face palmed at this. "Just because I said your name doesn't mean I wanted you here, you dumb cat."

He gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. "You _wound_ me!"

This got a round of laughter from everyone at the table- well, except for Rogue. The shadow dragon, who held Lucy in his lap, only narrowed his red eyes on the wild haired spirit.

The lion cleared his throat before continuing. "I'll pick up from here-"

"Were you eaves dropping on me again?!" Lucy shouted.

He shook his head but smirked nonetheless. "Nope, Virgo was."

She groaned and face palmed again- the smack sounding loud and angry.

Loke shrugged at this. "Hey, I'm not going to lie to you. But, anyway, when Lucy here saved my life by forcing His Majesty to re-evaluate the situation with my last owner, it caused him to take a look with Crux at the laws of our world. They were rewritten- just a little- to prevent people like Karen and Angel from having total control over us. It says, in a nutshell, that a mage without trust of all spirits in their hand will have all of their contracts revoked."

Yukino nodded at his explanation. "Exactly. The more promises we violate- relating to the Spirits or not- the less trustworthy we are. This can cause our contracts to become void and our keys to be relocated and hidden. That's why our word is our bond, our vow."

A smile graced the blonde woman's features. "Yep! Even though some promises don't have anything at all to do with the others like this dumb cat here-"

" _Hey_!"

"-as you heard, Virgo was listening in on our conversation. They can see and feel us at any point in time that they want, so if we don't carry out what we say we will too many times, it can cause us to- essentially- lose our magic," she finished with a nod.

"Well damn," Sting said, his blue eyes wide. "I thought it was more of a moral thing here."

"Well, that too. I mean, do you really want to be the one person that your family can't fully trust?" Lucy asked as she raised a brow.

This caused the guild master to pause and shake his head. "Yeah, no. I get ya there."

Loke turned to Lucy and bowed to her. "So would you like my help, Princess?"

"Go home already," she replied, narrowing her eyes at the spirit.

Who laughed at her before nodding. "I'm only a word away~"

He left in a puff of shimmering gold sparkles, causing the blonde to groan and shake her head. "Stupid cat's clingier than Rogue is, I swear."

"Excuse me?" Rogue's tone spoke of his feigned offense at the statement. "I'm not clingy."

Orga laughed loudly when Minerva leaned forward on the table and pointed at the couple. "Oh yeah? Who's the only two here sitting like that?"

"There's only six chairs here," he defended, narrowing his red eyes at the woman.

Yukino, as though to prove him wrong and tease the man, leaned back and stole an empty seat from another table. She put the chair between her and Sting and then patted it lightly. "There! Seven chairs~"

Rogue growled and everyone laughed at him. Even Lucy.

"I think I'll take that seat," she teased, her brown eyes sparkling in amusement.

And his arms tightened around her waist. "No."

Sting laughed the loudest. "Gajeel was _so_ right about you, man. He's totally got you pegged."

"Wait what?" he asked, sounding just as confused as Lucy looked.

Yukino sighed dramatically, as though it were a _bother_ to tell the tale. "Levy called the day after the eclipse since neither of you were answering- which I now know was the heat thing- and we talked with everyone for a while. Gajeel made the comment that you were the _most_ territorial of all the dragon slayers."

Frosch, who- like Lector- had been silent to this point, finally spoke up. "Is that why Mama has that on her arm?" As though to point out the mark on Lucy's left arm (as she had rolled her sleeves up to her elbows), the exceed patted her arm and sat her arm in Frosch's lap.

Rogue groaned and leaned his forehead against Lucy's back, also hiding his blush. "Why don't we just go get this spar thing over with..?"

"Nice change of subject," Rufus commented, smirking openly.

~ : + : ~

"Okay," Lucy started as they stood along the edge of the now-fixed training grounds. That would soon change, but she could always apologize and fix everything later. "I can't train you on magic expansion, but I can with combat."

"I feel like this is backwards deja vu," Yukino said, giggling shortly after. "I learned martial arts before you did for self defense."

"And that's the difference," Lucy said, wagging her finger jokingly at the light haired woman. "Mine is for offense primarily but can be adjusted for defense while yours is the opposite."

The other woman blinked and nodded. "Okay, I'm following you."

"One major component of the Star Dresses is hand-to-hand. Sometimes you get a weapon- like with Taurus's I can move the magic to my whip.. But more often than not, you're on your own. It acts like a little bit of a converter, because now, all of a sudden, you're no longer a holder mage but a caster mage. The clothes are pretty much just for show and to act as a filter for you, that way you don't wipe yourself out using one spell," she explained, looking up at Orga as he tried to leave. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

He shrugged. "Over with Mini and the twins. Ya ain't needin me right now-"

"Oh, no bud, I do. Give me a minute, jeez," she said exasperatedly. He laughed lightly when she rolled her eyes.

Yukino, however, looked lost in thought. "So other than to look pretty and hold the symbol of the Zodiac, it's just a filter?"

Lucy nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. They loan you their powers, but they're casters. We'd wipe out _fast_ if we didn't have a filter."

"Oh, okay! I spaced and totally forgot the whole _borrowing their power_ thing. Ugh," she said, slapping her forehead lightly.

Orga and Lucy shared a laugh and she shook her head. "Alright, so here's how this is going to work. I'm _decent_ , at best, with arm strength. I've got shoulder muscle from my whip and all, but otherwise I just have enough arm strength to get by. I have the most strength in my hips, thighs and calves."

"Damn right you do," Rogue called out, laughing when her face lit aflame with a massive blush.

Everyone laughed at his statement and she flipped him off, glaring his way. "Keep it up and you'll _forget_ aboutthat for an indefinite amount of time," she threatened.

"Ouch, man, that's harsh," Orga said, raising his brows at the spitfire blonde.

She shook her head and shoved the thoughts from her mind, returning her attention to Yukino- who was attempting to control her giggles. "It wasn't always like this, obviously, so I'm going to help you with your leg strength. You and I have the same size bust, but you're top heavy because your shoulders are broader than mine are- and you have arm muscles I can only dream of."

Again, the light haired woman giggled. "Hey, I can help _you_ with that!"

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Later- but you have a deal. Anyway, your center of gravity is going to be much higher than mine is. I have leg muscles you don't _and_ my butt's a little bigger than yours is. I'm a bit more bottom heavy while you're more top heavy, so your center of gravity is somewhere between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your naval. My center of gravity is a little below my waist line- between my hips."

Yukino's brows furrowed. "So is it going to be hard to adjust?"

"Shouldn't be," she answered with a nod. "People with lower centers are typically better with arm stuff because you can ground yourself easier. People with higher centers are better with leg stuff because you know how to adjust easily."

She nodded.

"It also helps that you're contracted to Libra because Libra can help you learn to adjust better than I can." Lucy admitted. Her finger came up and she pointed to an area just four or five steps away from where they were standing. "Orga, stand there defensively please. Yukino, when he gives you the okay, kick him in his defense."

"Oi, what now?" Orga asked curiously as he moved to the spot.

"Throughout our spar, Yukino is going to watch my legs and take mental notes on things. Before we get started, I'm going to show her two kicks that will be useful," the blonde answered with an award-winning smile.

Orga chuckled and nodded. "Right then," he started to say as he moved his forearms to block his center, "come at me, 'Kino."

As requested, Yukino tried to kick the brute in his arms. And she did kick him, but from the smirk on his face he probably didn't even feel it. Furthermore, Lucy noticed the small and barely seen wobble the Tigress gave as she kicked the god slayer. Lucy watched the muscles in her friend's legs as she did so, as well, making sure that they were all being used properly- and to make sure the woman wasn't holding back.

"So you know the first kick. That's a loose kick which is good to kick some nuts to get away from a male attacker, but that's about as far as its uses go," the blonde lectured softly.

Yukino nodded, understanding what was said. "So there's another?"

"Yep!"

Lucy motioned for the other woman to move and, soon enough, the blonde was in the same place Yukino had been in seconds before. "The next one is my favorite- the Lucy Kick. This involves momentum more than anything else. The more you move your leg, the better it works, and it has nothing to do with the muscles in your legs. What you want to do is when your leg is high enough, lock your hips. That will add to the force you kick with and add to your momentum."

Orga nodded, understanding that this kick was going to be more forceful than Yukino's had been. "Get at me, then, Shortstack."

Out of the corners of her brown eyes, she watched the slightly taller woman watch her like she were a judo instructor about to give a grade. Lucy anchored her left leg, pulled her right leg back, and locked her hips the moment her thigh was at a ninety degree angle with her torso. "Lucy Kick!" The momentum of the slight spin added to the kick by her anchored left leg helped Lucy's foot connect with the god slayer's arms.

And, upon impact, Orga was forced back about a foot. The marks on the ground where his heels dug into the ground proved that.

" _Shit!_ " he called out, pulling his bottom arm back and flinging it like it had been on fire. "That stung, Shortstack! Nice goin!"

Yukino's eyes were wide and she gulped but nodded. "S-So it's not about leg strength?"

"Nope! But the more leg strength you have, the more damage it does. I tried to keep it as easy as possible, considering you won't be able to match my real kick _because_ of the muscles," she explained. This time, she walked over to one of the only three trees on this side of the training grounds. "This is me using my muscles for it."

And another Lucy kick was delivered to the poor, unsuspecting tree.

That she uprooted and knocked over with the kick.

A low whistle came from Orga. "Well thanks for not breakin' my arms then, Shortstack."

Yukino, obviously shaken by the display, bowed to Lucy. "Alright.. I-I'll go join the others now."

Lucy looked over to see more Saber mages joining the small group they began with and she smiled with a shake of her head. Of course they would want a show- what else did she expect? "Lets get to the center stage, then~" The ogre nodded with a laugh and followed the fairy's lead, crossing his arms over his chest from the east side of the field. "Physical or magical spar?"

"Why not both?" he answered back with a smirk of his own.

Lucy nodded and looked over to Rufus. "If we're going magical, you need to set up a barrier on your side," she instructed.

They waited for the memory mage to get the barrier set up without debate. He knew his guild mate's magic was explosive enough, so it wasn't like there was much up for debate in the first place.

The blonde crouched down a little, watching as her sparring partner's skin began licking at his skin. "Come get me, girlie."

"You'll regret that," she said loud enough for him to hear. Lucy raced forward, starting on the physical. As expected, at the same time her right hand found her keys, Orga used his lightning to zap away. Her mind was racing with possibilities, trying to find the best plan of attack as he reformed just behind her.

"Taurus! Capricorn!" she called out, jumping up into a back flip when she felt a familiar surge of electricity lifting the hairs on her arms.

Thank _stars_ Laxus had sparred with her a few times before- otherwise that lightning would have struck her back.

Her two spirits were there the moment her feet reconnected with the ground. She turned around, her outfit changing without so much as a word to Taurus to take up his star dress. "Be prepared, Princess Lucy!" Capricorn shouted as he raced forward without complaint. "His attacks have more punch than your guild mate's do!"

"Right!" she called out in return.

"How dare yoouuuuu fight Princess Luuuuuuucy!" Taurus yelled, spinning his ax in one hand as he rushed forward as well.

Lucy ran forward, lagging behind her spirits just a little as she watched on with interest. Capricorn was faster than Taurus and was able to keep up with Orga's lightning teleportation easier than the bull was- of course that didn't mean it was easy for him. Not at all, but he _was_ able to keep up and adjust better than Taurus was. Which wasn't a big issue at all.

When Taurus swung his ax, Orga would dodge. More often than not, Capricorn was able to meet the god slayer at his new location to land a few martial arts attacks before he teleported again.

"Taurus!" she yelled.

"Yes, Luuuuuucy!"

"Be ready, Capricorn!" The bull stopped where he was and placed the head of his ax on the ground just in time for Lucy to step on it. With ease, the muscular bull tossed her high into the air, where her whip- the fleuve d'etoiles- lit up with blue and gold magic energy and extended itself. Orga, previously occupied by her spirits, looked up at the new light coming from the whip. Her two spirits jumped back as her right hand held the whip just above her left shoulder. "MAXIMUM TENSION!" she shouted, flicking her arm and wrist in time.

The whip snapped out, striking the ground where Orga stood _literally_ half a second earlier with enough force to send large chunks of the earth up at where he reappeared. He was struck with a particularly large chunk of the ground that had flown up at the same time Capricorn disappeared. As expected, the god slayer did _not_ like having a face full of dirt and clay.

" _Lightning God's Howl_!" he shouted.

"VIRGO!" Lucy shrieked from her spot suspended in the air.

The pink haired spirit appeared _just barely_ fast enough to grab the blonde around the waist and tug her down. Lucy's left arm was barely grazed with the force of the breath attack coming from his parted lips. When the attack finished he lowered his gaze _quickly_ to the ground and saw Taurus and Virgo coming at him. With no sign of Lucy anywhere.

He remained in place, blocking the ax with his right forearm against the handle and blocking the maid's attacks with his left forearm. He needed to find the blonde to get rid of these pesky spirits- and fast.

As soon as that thought was in his mind, the ground broke behind him.

Lucy stood behind the god slayer with her whip in one hand, though now she had her maid's dress on and her blonde hair in pig tails. He turned around just to have his chest connect with her foot in one _nasty_ Lucy Kick. The large brute was sent flying backwards and both of her spirits were gone by the time he regained his footing. Again, making snap decisions on the fly, Lucy touched two other keys.

"Gemini! Sagittarius!"

As soon as the gates were opened, Lucy was already in her Gemini star dress- the checkered patterns and odd hat something that made a few laughs to come from the large crowd of mages that had gathered. She didn't have time to flip them off like she wanted to do since Orga had already recovered and sent a 120 millimeter black lightning canon her way. Because of the minor preoccupation her mind had, she wasn't able to move completely out of the way and the blast caught her left thigh and scorched the outer half of it. The pants of the outfit were torn there now and that angered Lucy quite a bit.

She actually really liked this outfit.

"Gemini! Wendy!"

"Yes Princess! Piri Piri!"

The twins swiftly took over the form of Wendy Marvel, though as soon as they were in that form their blue hair went stark pink and their brown eyes turned pink as well.

"Shit!" Orga called out. His attention had been drawn to Gemini and he had forgotten about Sagittarius- leaving himself wide open to the archer to hit the man with five arrows piercing into his arm.

Gemini-Wendy raced forward towards the god slayer and, once again, Lucy went into the air. This time, though, it was nowhere near as high as when Taurus threw her.

" _Lightning God's Blast Canon_!" Orga shouted, anchoring his feet and holding both of his hands palm-out towards Lucy's form.

" _Sky Dragon's Roar_!" Gemini-Wendy _and_ Lucy called out, their breath attacks mingling to double the force. It was needed, though, since Wendy was no where _near_ strong enough to take on someone like Orga. It _was_ based on Wendy's magic power and ability instead of Lucy's, after all.

The two attacks hit one another and _exploded_ off of each other. The shock wave sent the blonde backwards- even in the air- and was strong enough to send Gemini back to the Spirit World.. Which was honestly a good thing. Lucy had used her first origin up with that dual attack. She was forced out of the star dress, but that was no problem at all.

Orga seemed unphased by the shock wave and dashed forward towards were Lucy was about to hit the ground.

Loke, however, had something to say about that. The Lion spirit not only blocked Orga from getting closer to the blonde but also sent a Regulus Punch to counter the lightning-infused punch the brute was sending out. Again, another shock wave went out from the clashing attacks- this one not as strong as the last, but way too close to Sagittarius. The archer got sent back before Lucy was able to use his star dress like she wanted to. The woman swore under her breath as she landed on her feet- barely able to adjust her balance in time to land safely.

The punches flying between the god slayer and the Lion spirits was enough time for Lucy to determine the best partner to call out- which, she would later have to thank Loke for coming out on his own power. Otherwise, she wouldn't have the magic needed for her new plan.

All spirits but Gemini and Sagittarius were still okay to fight- but the ones with the best advantage over the god slayer were Scorpio, Virgo and Capricorn. The best, right now, would have to be enough for her plan.

Her right hand touched her keys again. "Scorpio!" she called out.

The tanned spirit came out, his hands making their signature rocker hands (which he adamantly argued that was actually the sign of his stinger, not for rock and roll). " _We are_ ready to rock!"

"Told you they were rock and roll hands!" Lucy said loudly as she shifted to Scorpio's star dress.

" _They are not!_ " the Spirit yelled out as Lucy raced forward with her whip to aid Loke. The two worked together well while Scorpio gathered the time and resources he needed behind them. Lucy would distract the god for her lion and Loke would do the same for her. There were times that she used her whip to forcefully pull Orga into Loke's attacks and times where Loke's punches would send the man back into Lucy's legs. Her left leg- the one hit by his canon of lightning- was aching terribly but she powered through it. Orga growled loudly- angrily- and a sound behind her was the only thing that stopped any panic.

Behind her, she heard the familiar movement of her friend's stinger-like tail. He was finally done shifting the earth she dug up with her first attack into sand. "Now! _Sand Buster!_ "

" _Lightning God's Howl_!" Orga shouted, meeting the sand attack seconds after Leo jumped out of the way.

Obviously the god slayer had long forgotten that earth can ground electricity considering that the sand peeled through the lightning with relative ease. It hit Orga's chest at almost full force, once again sending him flying backwards.

Lucy crouched down with her right leg- her left staying straight out. Her muscles were taught in the left leg, tense, and now they were sending waves of searing pain through her body. Damn canon attack catching her off of her guard. As soon as she jumped up using her right leg's muscle alone, her spirit's sand attack was right behind her and helped throw her into the air. Loke had gone back to hand-to-hand with the now _pissed_ man and Lucy knew she had to end it _soon_.

A particularly nasty looking punch from Orga had Loke disappearing in a fluttering flurry of sparkles and she barely heard the teal haired man mutter an apology before glaring at the last remaining spirit.

Her legs shifted, mid air, so that her left knee was pulled to her chest and her right leg was straight. She channeled her magic to her foot, hoping like _hell_ this worked. One of the five spells that her spirits had taught her. The air around her right foot started swirling like the air around a massive drill. That wind soon turned black, dotted with white speckles that looked a lot like stars.

Orga looked up and his eyes widened significantly, as the woman was too close to him for him to move unharmed.

He _quickly_ shifted to lightning form the moment that she shouted "COSMIC KICK!"

The man was able to get out of the way of the kick itself- but not out of the way of the repercussions.

Her foot connected with the earth, causing a _massive_ crater to spring forth from the impact area. The earth _shook_ from the force of the impact and a line of two explosions came out of the ground towards Orga. While the underground explosions themselves missed him, he found himself having deja vu. Again, chunks of flying earth went _everywhere_ , only missing the crowd that had gathered because of the barrier Rufus had set up. And, once again, he was met with a face full of flying earth. Scorpio left of his own accord, knowing the match would be ended after that attack by Lucy herself. She was down on her second origin and he knew she didn't plan on expending all of her magic power.

Deadpanned, Orga wiped the dirt from his face with one massive hand. "Match," he said loudly.

Lucy, from inside the crater, shouted back. "Okay!"

The panting blonde went to fall back on her rear but was caught by a pair of strong arms. Maybe not Orga strong, but still pretty damn strong. She sighed and leaned into his hold when a kiss was placed on her cheek. "You're kind of terrifying, you know?"

She looked back and up at Rogue with a cheeky smile on her face. "That's why nobody's gonna mess with you while I'm around!"

He chuckled and hoisted her up and around his body, perfectly content with giving her a piggy back ride while she clung to his back like a koala. They shifted to the shadows (but really though, _it was the coolest fucking thing ever_ ) and quickly joined the others outside of the crater Lucy had created.

"Jesus fuck, Blondie! What the hell kind of training did you do?!" Sting yelled, surveying the damage done from the battle he had watched.

She shrugged. "I actually didn't do a lot of physical training. I did a _ton_ of magic expansion training, though."

Orga, now leaning on Minerva with an arm over his midsection, laughed and shook his head. "I would'a been done for if that hit. I forfeit."

Lucy shook her head. "That was a last resort," she admitted with a soft smile. "When I summon Gemini, they also take the magic pool of the mage in question... But if I summon Wendy, I can make her go dragon force by giving up that same amount of magic from my own body. If I send them back, I get half of that magic back... But since you forced them to be sent back.."

"You didn't get any back," Minerva finished, her eyes wide.

She nodded. "That little girl has a pretty big magic pool for her size, so it took a lot out of me.."

"How were you able to use her roar?" Rufus asked, his eyes alight with interest.

Lucy smiled wider. "I can use any spell known by the mage Gemini takes on~ It just takes... A shit ton of magic to do."

"Then why did you make Wendy go dragon force?" Rogue asked, sounding relatively worried about her well being.

"I spar with Laxus once a month. I can tell when they're going to attack because of the air current," she admitted. "I don't have very many mages in Gemini's arsenal and typically I use Gemini-Wendy to heal... Which is what I was planning to do in the first place, if I'm being honest. But I knew he was planning on another big attack and needed something to counter it."

Yukino shook her head. "I have a lot to catch up with..."

"You'll get there," Lucy encouraged with a playful wink.

Rogue adjusted her on his back and when his hand moved closer to the outside of her left thigh, she hissed in pain and inhaled sharply. Her forehead landed against the slayer's shoulder and she exhaled shakily. "Oh stars that hurts."

"What was it you said to Yukino a while back?" Sting asked teasingly, raising a brow at the blonde woman. "Oh yeah. _The mating of dragon slayer and mate will heal wounds faster_ ," he said, mocking her voice childishly.

She rolled her eyes. "You're such an ass."

"It's true though," Minerva said, waggling her brows Lucy's way.

"Doctors orders," Yukino said, taking a stance that made her seem like a doctor checking on her patient, "go get some, Miss Heartfilia."

Rogue's face blossomed into a deep shade of red when Lucy smirked and bit his ear lightly. "If it's the doctors orders, I guess we'll have to go~"

The slayer she teased groaned in embarrassment. "Do you have to tell-"

"Yes," the three women cut in- each in a deadpan.


	19. The Fifth Day

_**Author's Note** : Okay so this chapter is going to be the shortest chapter for a while._

 _I mean it's not short but it's about... 3,000 words shorter than the last few chapters have been. However, for me to keep this going in the direction and way I want to keep it going at, I need this shorter chapter to be a bit of a buffer for the next one. We're coming down to the last few chapters, as well, considering that this story has a planned chapter level at 30. We're 11 away from the end, guys._

 _But, that's only if things keep going how I want them to, that is._

 _Between the holidays, family drama, and school, it's been exceedingly difficult to sit down and just write. I've been trying to keep up but with the mishap a while back and how little time I've had lately, I've been filling in updates with what was supposed to be a one-shot that turned into a two-shot. Either way. I'm going to try my damnedest to get something out on this story once a week until all the holidays are over._

 _Well, hopefully more than that but I'm not going to hold my breath with how things have looked so far._

 _ANYWAY. Now that that is out of the way, let's move on! Here we go!_

* * *

 _ **The Fifth Day**_

 _Oasei Pisca_.

That name had been bouncing around endlessly in Bickslow's head since the rather strange encounter with the woman whom he hoped like hell to never see again. As he lay in the hotel's bed, the birds chirping outside of the window to signal a new day, he couldn't manage to think of anything other than that strange encounter. It was like there was a new voice in his head that refused to let him think his own thoughts and filled his head with nonsense that left his head swimming. It certainly didn't help that he had a pounding headache from the amount of liquor he and Laxus had consumed last night in order to try and forget the encounter they had.

 _Oasei Pisca_.

It was like the name had meaning of some sort, but what sort he wasn't sure. The seith mage sat up and looked around the room in a very tired manner. Freed was already dressed and ready to go and Laxus was in the shower- probably trying to wash off the hang over they both sported. Evergreen was in the far side of the room, standing in front of a full body mirror and examining herself to ensure she looked well enough to manage for the rest of the day. He grumbled and groaned about having to go back to that same spot today to finish up the job... But at the very least, they only had two more imports to do today. After that, it was back to Fairy Tail and they were home free.

But that damned name kept bouncing around in his cranium. As soon as he slipped his top on and made a grab for his visor, he looked back to the rune mage. "Ayo, Frefre?"

The green haired man blinked twice when he turned to his teammate- startled by the nickname he hadn't heard in days. He soon cleared his throat and shook off the startle. "Yes, Bickslow?"

"Ya know a bunch'a shit from readin' 'n whatnot, right?" he asked- already knowing the answer to that.

To which Freed's brows furrowed. "Of course I do. What has this to do with anything?"

The seith mage bit his lower lip, trying to think of a way to put the question he wanted to ask. He and Laxus had agreed to never speak of the encounter they had again- unless absolutely dire situations arose. This was not a dire situation. How was he supposed to word the question he needed to know the answer to? Either way, he had to think and think fast. Freed looked like he was about ready to turn around and ignore him, which meant that he may never get to know the answer he wanted to know. Time to open his mouth and, probably, insert his foot.

"Gotta name for ya. If you dunno nothin' 'bout it right now, can ya do some research for me?"

This seemed to pique his interest and he gave a barely noticeable nod. "How much information are you looking for?"

"As much as possible ta dig up," Bickslow answered with a nod, sliding his visor on.

"Alright. This name?"

"Oasei Pisca."

Now, keep in mind that Bickslow was prepared for any response he could think of. Freed knowing the person, not knowing the person, agreeing to do the research, or even yelling at him because he didn't know the person. However, none of those responses was the one he got from the green haired man. No, what happened was something that the seith mage wasn't prepared for- because he didn't think it would happen. He didn't think _anything_ like this would happen.

Freed paled to a rather unhealthy sheet-white shade, his turquoise eyes shrinking in fear and looking as though he had seen a ghost. A sweat instantly broke out over his forehead and his mouth clamped shut so tightly that Bickslow honestly thought he might break his teeth from having them pressed together so tightly. His left hand dropped the rapier in his hold and he took a step back- like he had just been shot in the shoulder from a magic gun. To have such a strong reaction...

"Never speak that name again," Freed growled out from behind his clenched teeth, his eyes still shining in a fear so strong one could mistake it for an angry fire.

Bickslow tilted his head to the side, his brows furrowed. "Oh... -Kay..? What's wrong with Oa-"

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up."

This time, Bix let his eyes widen to disproportional sizes. Freed _never_ cussed. Never. He put his hands up, palms out in surrender. "Sorry, sorry.."

Freed inhaled deeply, his left hand coming up to cover his face and he shook his head. "How did you find that name?"

The seith mage shrugged. He knew he couldn't tell the story- Laxus had made him swear not to. He took his word very seriously... Much in the same way Lucy did. So, he told the half truth. Freed could see through lies faster than a man could see through a window- so lying was definitely out of the question. Telling the half-truth on the other hand... Perhaps that would work better. "It's been floatin' 'round in my head for a while now. Didn' know what it meant, so I thought I'd ask ya."

Freed's brows furrowed and Bix _knew_ he was in trouble. Just as his jaw loosened to take a breath, Evergreen cut in as she came through. "We need to go now. Laxus, meet us down at the port when you're out of the shower!"

 _Thank the gods for Evergreen and her loud mouth_.

* * *

Lucy laughed happily with Yukino on one arm and Minerva on the other. The three women- two Tigresses and one Fairy- were waiting at the train station for the train to Magnolia to show up. Her magic power wasn't fully back from the sparring yesterday, but her physical self was nearly completely healed. Well, all save for a lingering soreness in her left thigh. Behind the ladies were their mates- two of which grumbling angrily about having to ride a train while the third one teased them mercilessly about it. Frosch was perched on Rogue's shoulder- as per usual- and Lector was perched on Sting's shoulder.

"Thanks for coming with me, guys... It means a lot," Lucy said, a soft smile playing at her lips.

"Oh, no problem at all!" Yukino answered with a bright smile. "I've kind of been excited about seeing the inside of the new hall, if I'm being honest."

Minerva nodded, a smile playing at her features as well. "And I'm stoked to see Erza again. Maybe we can spar, too~"

Lucy giggled childishly and waggled her brows at the black haired woman on her right. "She might be a bit _busy_ with Jellal, if you catch my drift~"

"HOLD UP," Sting yelled, running forward to get on Yukino's side. Lector seemed to be holding on by the fur of his jacket- barely. He looked over to the other blonde with wide, shocked, blue eyes. "You mean escaped convict Jellal? Ex-Wizard Saint Jellal? _Tower of fucking Heaven Jellal_?!"

Lucy's brows furrowed but she nodded. "Yeah, that very Jellal. Though I wonder how the hell you know about the Tower of Heaven...? That was supposed to be classified."

"Sting knows everything, of course," Lector chimed in with a proud smile as he righted himself on the slayer's shoulder.

"Jiemma," he answered honestly, his face going stern. "When he was rounding strong people up to join Sabertooth years back, he dug up all he could on the strongest of the strong in history- Jellal included. I have a file on him in the office from what that dick left behind."

The blonde chuckled and shook her head. "You know about Edolas?"

To which _he_ furrowed his brows. "Another world with our alternate counterparts. Riddled our world with anima for a while. Yeah, we all know about it- well, the Wizards do anyway. When you all were in that time-freezing bullshit, the council made it a point that all mages who worked in a guild for a living knew about it just in case anything like that happened again."

Lucy nodded and smirked wildly. "Jellal's Edolas counterpart was trapped in our world for a very long time. He was a Fairy Tail wizard- Mystogan. He was also one of our strongest- on par with Laxus, if not stronger. It was never determined who was stronger," she said, thinking back to the Fantasia incident and what she had heard about that battle. She wasn't able to see it herself but she heard plenty. "From what I understand, Laxus and Mystogan were battling it out when Laxus demolished his face mask and Erza caught sight of his face."

Rogue has wandered up at that point, standing behind Lucy and wrapping his arms around her waist. When he did this, Frosch moved from Rogue's shoulder to Lucy's. "So he went under the alias of Mystog- wait. Does that mean that man at the Grand Magic Games was Jellal? Or did another anima happen?"

"Yeah, that was Jellal," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "We needed him on our side because he had been feeling Zeref's magic every year in the Games since it was established. It was later found out that the Eclipse Gate was what he felt, but since none of us knew the feeling of that dark magic like he did, we asked him to be on our side for a little while... At least until we found out who- or what- was emitting that magic."

Orga, during that explanation, had meandered up to stand by Minerva. "So that man is a Saint an' the one who was from Edolas was just as much of a damned monster as that lightning twat?"

The large man was smacked for his language around Frosch, which pulled a mumbled apology from him.

Lucy laughed loudly at this and smiled up at the monster of a man to her right. "Yep! Fairy Tail has a bit of a running thing with raising monsters. Natsu, Gray, Laxus, Mystogan, Erza, Mirajane, Cana, Gildarts..."

"You," the Sabertooth wizards all said at the same time.

Lucy smiled sadly and shook her head. "If you honestly think _I'm_ a monster, you should see Gildarts. That man destroys buildings on _accident_ when _sober_. The town has the _Gildarts Procedures_ , where the alarms go off and the town splits in half and leads to our guild hall because he gets lost and walks _through buildings_. He's kind of insane."

"And the rest of you aren't?" Yukino asked, an incredulous look on her face. "Fairy Tail took out the entire Balam Allliance- nearly on their own, demolished us at the Games when we were the strongest, Laxus took out a _Wizard Saint_.. You can use the Ultimate Spell and you've summoned the King himself. Erza took out Kagura _and then turned around to take Minerva out right after that_. Laxus wiped out the entirety of Raven Tail... What else..."

"Oh, the whole Lullaby thing we were told about by Master Bob," Sting offered.

"Master Bob also told us about the Galuna Island thing!" Lector chimed in helpfully.

Rogue rested his chin on his mate's head. "Phantom Lord. You were tortured by Black Steel Gajeel, faced Master Jose and threw yourself off of the top story of their prison, you crazy woman."

"How did you-"

"Gajeel calls me Runt for a reason," he said, moving his chin off of her head to her left shoulder. "Skiadrum and Metallicana were close... We might as well have been blood brothers. He tells me everything I want to- and don't want to- hear." He nuzzled his cheek against hers, a purr of a growl leaving his throat.

"Clingy," Minerva accused, raising a small brow at the shadow dragon.

Who growled at the accusation- but couldn't necessarily deny it either.

"Rogue, stop growling at Mama," Frosch demanded.

Lucy giggled and pulled the green exceed into her arms. "He's not growling at Mama, Fro. He's growling at Minerva."

"Oh! Okay!"

Lucy giggled softly and returned back to the topic at hand. "Yeah, well, Mystogan was the one who took out all of their side arms. Our core members worked on the Element Four- and Gajeel... But he took out _literally_ everyone else single-handedly," she said with a soft smile.

Yukino laughed and shook her head at this. "Monsters. You're all monsters."

The horn of the train coming into the station interrupted their group's little bubble, though soon enough they were all on the train and Lucy was looking for an empty private compartment. This time of day, it was rather difficult to find, but the blonde was determined to find one. Or, at least find one that had a bench open for her and Rogue at the very least. Her hopes weren't too high when she opened up the largest private compartment on the train, but she _did_ stop dead in her tracks.

And screamed so loudly it scared the piss out of everyone around her.

"BIG BROTHER!" she _screeched_ and jumped at the large-as-fuck man that stood up just in time to catch her.

"JESUS FUCK, BLONDIE, CHILL YOUR TITS!"

Rogue had ran faster than anyone could have expected him to at the sound of Lucy's banshee shriek, and even though he wanted to growl and punch Laxus in the face for holding his mate, he held it back. Simply because he knew Lucy had launched herself at him. He knew because he knew his mate well enough, but he could so clearly see how Laxus seemed hesitant to wrap his arms around her. Did he like it? Absolutely not. Would he deal with it? ...Well, he would try to, anyway.

When those storm blue eyes met Rogue's red ones, the shadow dragon nodded his consent for the lightning dragon to hold his little sister.

"Cosplayer! Been a while!" Bickslow said, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"A pleasure to see you, Miss Lucy," Freed said with a nod of his head.

"Lulu, are you coming home already?" Evergreen asked, her brows furrowed.

Lucy shook her head and dragged Rogue into the compartment- watching with amusement glimmering in her chocolate eyes as everyone else from Sabertooth awkwardly stepped in as well. "Not just yet... I'm just testing the waters. I know that everyone knows about what happened now and-"

"You ain't wanting anyone to treat ya too different," Bickslow finished for her. When she nodded, he only cackled and waggled his tongue at her. "You'll always be ma Cosplayin' Cheerleader, that ain't changin' anytime soon."

Rogue's brows furrowed and he shook his head at the statement, choosing to pull Lucy into his lap instead of commenting.

Sting, however, took the opportunity to speak up. "How many fucking nicknames does she have? Gajeel called her Bunny.."

"Bunny, Cosplayer, Cheerleader, Blondie, Shortstack, Luce, Luigi, Lu, Lulu..." Lucy listed off on he fingers.

Laxus smirked an continued for her. "Gildarts calls her Sparkette since she's my little sister."

Evergreen nodded and smiled. "Her spirits call her Princess, the girls at the Love and Lucky merchant's guild call her Lucky, and I think that's it..."

"So twelve, then?" Yukino asked, tilting her head.

Lucy shrugged. "Who knows. I lost count- shit wait, Cobra calls me Bright Eyes.."

"Speaking of poison jizz," Laxus started, leaning forward to look down the row at Orga, "we got him in on our nights too. So as far as we're counting, there's seven right now."

"Right now?" the god slayer voiced, his unseen brows furrowing. "Who the hell else would join? I mean, the sky girl's there but she's too young- and the little goddess is only a year or two older than her.."

"Goddes- oh, Chelia?" Bickslow asked.

Minerva nodded and smiled invitingly. "Yeah. This giant sees her like a little sister."

"Well she needs _someone_ responsible n' not with a _love-track-mind_ t' look out for her," he argued, crossing his arms over his wide chest.

Laxus chuckled and shook his head. "You're almost as bad as I was with sis here."

"Hey, maybe I should call her up and we can have a little sister day," Lucy mused, smiling widely.

"Add Miss Marvel into that, as well, if you would. Gajeel has taken to calling her _Munchkin_ when he's not calling her _Sis_ ," Freed stated with a definitive nod.

Lucy's brows shot up. "Metal Head and Wen-Wen? Since when?!"

Conversation devolved to nothing but gossiping and comparing guilds for a long while. When the train lurched forward, Yukino had to hold onto Sting to keep him from falling into the floor and Laxus took up residence by leaning against the window to sleep- his soundpods on to ignore everyone else. Rogue's face was buried into Lucy's back and his arms tightened around her as though she were the only thing keeping him alive in that moment, as well. That, of course, got a half-serious threat to the shadow dragon to keep him from puking on his mate.

The entire time everyone was talking and just goofing around with one another, Freed had been staring at her mating mark. Not that anyone but Laxus knew about his feelings, but Evergreen was quick to pick up on it with just _how_ he was staring at the mark. Well, at least until he deflected her concerns by asking about it. They spoke about that for a while as well, and even though nobody noticed, Bickslow had gone deathly silent.

His eyes were glued to Lucy's mark and that same fucking voice from earlier repeated that fucking name.

 _Oasei Pisca._

More than that, though, was the voice. It was clear, feminine, and much more distracting now than it had been earlier that day. The longer he looked at her mark, the more that name echoed in his mind and it _bothered the fuck_ out of him. The seith mage _desperately_ needed more information than this, but he wasn't about to ask Freed again about it. Not after the reaction to that name earlier that day. No, he wasn't about to dig his own grave with that. If anything, he could always ask Lucy or have her ask Rufus or something. Levy, too. Bickslow could ask Levy himself later at the guild... So that might be exactly what he does.

A deep grumble distracted the seith mage and his red eyes went up to look at his team leader- Laxus. The lightning dragon slayer looked as though he were about to keel over at any time now, but more than that, he looked confused. And worried. Though the two didn't say anything audibly to one another, Bix knew that Laxus knew there was something going on in his mind. The blue haired man jerked his head slightly to the left and Laxus nodded, understanding that they would talk about it later. Preferably when nobody else was around. Especially since that meant that they would be able to talk about the encounter.

Bickslow wanted to let his eyes wander over everyone in the group, but unfortunately, it looked like his eyes were one side of a magnet and Lucy's mating mark was his long lost other half. And that voice was bouncing in his head again.

 _One of Four._

Which made his brows furrow in both concern and confusion. Who was one of four? Lucy? Whoever the fuck Oasei was? Bickslow? Or was this mark one of four that she would receive? What the fuck was this vague bullshit going on? First it was that weird soulless lady at the pier, now his brain was filled with a voice that _clearly_ wasn't his internal voice at all spouting even more cryptic nonsense, and now he was sporting a headache worse than the likes of his hangover.

 _One of Four._

"Goddammit," Bickslow cursed under his breath. The seith mage peeled his eyes away from Lucy and brought a hand up to rub at his forehead. This headache was already _pulsing_ and _throbbing_ and his eyes hurt, too.

His eyes _never_ hurt.

"Bixy-stick?" Lucy asked in a concerned voice, looking down the way at him. "Are you okay?"

He looked up to see her concerned brown eyes and, out of his peripheral vision, he noticed that Freed, Ever, and Laxus were all looking at him in concern as well. He chuckled and nodded. "Ya, I'm fine, Cosplayer. Still gotta bit uv'a hangover from last night, tha's all," he lied.

And he knew she could tell he was lying from the way her brow drew together.

"Promise ya, girlie, I'm good. Ain't nothin' with ya, it's juss'a headache," he finished with a nod.

Hearing the truth behind _that_ statement, the blonde woman seemed to accept it and nodded back at him. Her attention returned to the conversation she, Evergreen, Yukino and Minerva seemed to be having. Which, honestly, was a good thing.

"Headache?" Freed asked, his brows showing a small sign of concern as well. Which, for the green haired man, is a lot.

The seith mage nodded. "Yeah. Startin behind my eyes," he admitted, dipping his head down to rest in his hands.

Laxus grumbled as he moved to sit up. "Did you use too much magic at the port?"

Bickslow shook his head. "It ain't that. We'll talk later, kay? Don' want Cosplayer thinkin' anythin's too bad."

At the knowledge that Bix was experiencing a massive headache, though, Freed went even more silent than he had been before. Which wasn't much, but still enough to make a difference. The excessive fear in his eyes from earlier that day had come back- though at a much smaller degree. But it was there. And to people who knew the rune mage well enough, it was noticeable.

The Thunder Legion stayed mostly silent and just simply listened in on the others' conversations. Well, that's what everyone but Evergreen did. Laxus was a dragon slayer and, like the other two slayers on this godforsaken train, he didn't have much energy at all to speak. Bickslow's headache was horrendous and prevented him from talking, though the more he looked out the window (pointedly away from his Cheerleader), the better his head felt. Freed seemed too preoccupied with his thoughts to offer much to the table conversation wise.

Like every other time it happened, it took a few moments after the train slowed to a stop for the slayers to regain their balance and their stomachs. And their dignity. But they were easily the first three off of the train, followed swiftly by the rest of the gang. Laxus lead the brigade off of the train (saying that since he was oldest the twin dragons needed to respect their elders) and Orga followed up at the end of their line. In the station, as expected, there were whispers and excited cheers about seeing the two titan teams of ' _rival guilds_ ' mingling.

The two teams- or the legion of ten people- walked directly to Fairy Tail without second thought. Excitement fell over the ten mages and the Fairies were now in better spirits than they had been in a very long time. Evergreen said that she'd drop it and never bring it back up so long as Lucy accepted her thanks- which she did... Though it was only in hopes that the brunette would leave her alone about the subject. Which, she didn't bring it up after that- to which the blonde was eternally thankful.

Bickslow made everyone stand back while the legion entered the hall. It didn't take even three seconds for the seith mage's loud voice to come booming and getting everyone's attentions.

"HEY! FAIRIES!" he shouted, his hands cupping around his mouth. When everyone went deathly silent, he smiled widely with his tongue lolling out of his mouth to ease their concerns. Not curiosity- just concerns. "We picked up five strays on the way bac- oW WHAT THE HELL BOSSMAN!" His yell was accompanied by the lifting of one leg and both of his hands holding his butt.

Laxus rolled his eyes. "We have visitors, _not strays_."

"Same thing," the seith mage said with a shrug. "OH ALSO!"

Bickslow struck the _Will Smith_ pose- both of his arms out towards the door with one awkwardly above the other and his hands out in jazz-hands style. He crouched down just a little to make everything more dramatic- as he's known to do- and laughed wildly. "COSPLAYER'S BACK!"

"LUIGI!" Natsu shouted the _second_ Lucy started leading the Sabers through the guild doors. The fire dragon slayer looked as though he were about to tackle her- but swerved at the last moment to get a handshake in with Sting. Well, they _called_ it a handshake... In all honesty, it looked like a school ground game of _Double, Double_ between two men who lost all feeling in their arms and were just now trying to regain motion in them. "What's up man?! What're you doing here already?"

"Bunny Girl," Gajeel said, wrapping an arm around the blonde's shoulders to steady her while Levy straight up _tackled_ the woman in a hug. The iron slayer's eyes then turned to Rogue and he nodded to the man. "Runt."

"Gajeel, Levy," Rogue responded simply, nodding to the slayer and his mate... Who were honestly annoying him with how they were all over his mate. No matter how territorial he was, he wasn't about to monopolize Lucy- nor was he going to give her a reason to leave. So he grinned and he bared it.

"Minerva," Erza said, walking up smoothly to the group and she nodded to the territory mage. "It's been a while."

"It has," she admitted with an embarrassed and sheepish smile to the red head. Carefully, the tigress held her hand out for a handshake. "I was wondering.. If you'd forgive me..?"

Titania, with her arms crossed over her chest, seemed to size the woman up. Between the two women, it was silent and the tiger honestly was starting to sweat in anticipation. However, the red head eventually smiled widely, slapped the hand out of the way, and pulled the black haired woman into a hug. "Water under the bridge. You're helping my sister when she needs it most and you've truly turned a new leaf. That's more than I could hope for."

Carefully, cautiously, Minerva wrapped her arms around the red head and smiled. "Thank goodness. I've been trying to... And I was hoping you wouldn't hold too bad of a grudge..."

"Never."

"Rufus not join you?" Gray asked, walking up to the god slayer of the group with his hands in his pockets.

Orga, genuinely shocked that someone other than Laxus addressed him first, offered a smirk down at the shorter man. Well, everyone was shorter than him- even Laxus was by two or three inches. "Nah. With our _guild master_ bein' a pouty lil' shit 'bout not bein' able to come visit too, _someone_ responsible had t' stay behind."

At the statement, they heard Sting's growl before the two erupted into laughs of their own.

Yukino was swiftly caught up in conversation, as well, with Mirajane and Lisanna. Though their conversation was mostly about being a barmaid and how different it is between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail, it was obvious that they thought highly of the tigress... No matter how menial the conversation seemed to be.

"Lucy-nee!" the small scream of excitement drew away everyone's attention and Levy clamored away from the blonde woman in just enough time for her to be _assaulted_ by a smaller (and younger) blue haired woman. Well, a blue haired slayer. "Are you okay? Did you go on any missions? Is there anything I can heal for you? What are you doing back so soon?"

Lucy laughed heartily and patted the young woman's head affectionately. "Calm down, calm down! I'm fine, no missions, nothing to heal, and I wanted to visit."

"Your magic pool seems lower," she stated, a pout tugging at her lips. "Why?"

The blonde woman chuckled and wrapped an arm around the short girl. "I sparred with Orga yesterday, Wen-Wen. Took quite a bit of magic."

Laxus barked a laugh and looked over to the god slayer. "She's fucking crazy, am I right?"

"Damn right," Orga replied, a wide smile taking up residence on his face. "Seriously. She laid waste to our trainin' grounds, nearly snuffed me, and only took minimal damage. Fuckin' insane ass Fairies."

Laxus shook his head and smiled down at his adopted little sister, a wicked smirk playing at his features as he watched her talk to Levy and Wendy as though she had been away for years. "Physically, she isn't much, but her magic is insane. She's a tactician on top of that- one that rivals our first master. That combination alone is deadly as shit."

The god shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "Shortstack's got skills to keep her ass alive longer than most uv'us."

"Don't forget just _what_ her magic is," Gray commented- feeling like the shortest man alive next to the two hulking monsters. "There's a reason dark guilds seek her out for their creepy ass sacrificial shit."

"Yes, we might want to inform Rogue of her... Unfortunate habit of getting into rather nasty situations," Freed said with a nod.

Master Makarov had come down from his office at the sudden rise in noise levels and quickly welcomed the Sabertooth visitors- who quickly paired off to their own cliques soon after. Minerva, Erza and Mira had taken up residence at the bar- where Minerva was getting some tips and tricks on keeping the demon side of her down that came to her as a result of Tartaros. Orga and the Thunder Legion- Laxus included- took up residence at a table relatively close to the bar considering the lightning slayers' inability to be too far from their mates. Natsu, Sting, Lisanna, and Yukino were at Team Natsu's normal table talking adamantly about something of little relevancy. Lucy found herself seated at a table of blue haired women: Levy, Wendy and Juvia. Rogue, Gajeel and Romeo were also seated at their own table- noticeably close to the blue haired and blonde women's. The two slayers were talking to the young fire mage- discreetly- about mating and what it means.

Which Wendy didn't notice. Thankfully. Romeo still hasn't let it slip that he knew that he was her mate. He was in the process of getting as much information as possible first and foremost, while also getting closer to the youngest slayer.

And while Fairy Tail _seemed_ normal in the moment, Lucy knew it wasn't. Elfman wasn't being as loud about being a man as normal, Wakaba had refiled his pipe _at least_ four times in the hour they had been there, Cana barely got through her first barrel and was merely _sipping_ on her second. To make everything worse, there was this _look_ directed at her by everyone except the dragon slayers and their mates. That look... Was something that was making her stomach churn. They looked at her with pity or sympathy. They looked at her as though she were a hero or a martyr. It was infuriating but simultaneously it was disheartening.

She knew that Tartaros left deep scars on everyone. The dragon slayers that were raised by dragons finally lost their parents- and they _knew_ it. There was no more hope to cling to about possibly finding them in the future. Gray and Juvia went through something no couple- official at that point or not- should ever have to shoulder. Everyone lost a peace of mind that should never have been lost to begin with.. To top everything off, it gave more people PTSD for a long while before everything was said and done. The year apart only amplified that.

And, even knowing all of this, Lucy still had to tell them of her own sacrifice to keep everyone alive. They didn't need that on top of everything they had already went through. It really only made her feel worse about her situation. And then there was the harsh reminder of her mate being from a different guild that was three or four hours away by train ride and walking. He was from a different town. He would leave, too. Everyone always did, but being back in Fairy Tail before she was ready to be back only seemed to amplify her worries.

She wasn't sure when it started, but she was beginning to hyperventilate. Her breathing wasn't even, wasn't stable, and she sure as hell wasn't comfortable. She was pissed off that everyone dared to look at her the way they were, she was irritated, but most of all she was saddened. She was worried.

"Bunny?" a voice spoke out.

Whoever said it was male. Familiar. But she couldn't see- her eyesight was blurry and her mind was working in overtime trying to differentiate the different blobs of color.

A hand rested on her shoulder. "Lu?"

Her breathing worsened.

This wasn't what she wanted at all. This was the entire reason that Lucy tried to deal with it on her own. Everyone was ousting her, picking her out above everyone else to stare at or shoot _those looks._ They would think she was making a mountain out of a mole hill and leave. _Again_.

"Lucy, calm down, I'm right here, okay?"

Another male voice- again, familiar. Comforting, though raspy. The hand on her shoulder was gone now but a different- larger- hand was on her left wrist. As soon as his thumb traced over her mating mark, a wave of a calming feeling washed over her person. The panic and fear gripping at her heart was still there but now it wasn't as bad. She was dizzy and light headed, but his thumb on her mark was soothing away that feeling as well.

"She's having a panic attack. Levy, will you lead me to her apartment?"

"Yeah. You can calm her down and I'll get her a bath drawn."

"I'll grab Bunny's things and get those strawberry pops from the market she likes."

"Rogue-nii, call me if she gets worse, okay?"

"Will do, little dragon. Let's just get her home."

The voices continued to speak and converse with one another but their words weren't distinguishable anymore. Her breathing worsened even further and the fear around her heart got stronger. Just who all was there? _Where_ was her home? With Rogue, but he'd be going home.. Without her.. A wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks and she nearly vomited on whoever it was that was carrying her. Why did being away from him make her want to throw up? Was it the mate thing or was it because of her issues prior to being marked?

Did he feel the same way or did he want his alone time?

Where was he? Where's Rogue?

"I'm right here, Lucy, just stay awak-"

Her consciousness faded before he could finish his sentence.

* * *

When Lucy finally awoke, her head was pounding painfully. Her clothes had been changed and her chest made it feel like she had ran an entire marathon without water. A soft groan left her as she attempted to sit up, but a heavy weight on her stomach prevented her from sitting up. Looking down, she found that her vision was still very blurry. A few blinks, however, cleared out the blurred lines and shapes to show a sight that she honestly never expected to wake up to.

Minerva was using Orga as a pillow as the two sat in the far corner of her room- his head was tipped to the side and his breathing was all she needed to see to know that he was out like a light. Dual chainsaw action had her looking over to the right side of her room to see Natsu and Sting lying on the floor next to one another with their palms pressing against each other's faces to push each other away. Yukino and Lisanna seemed to give up on them and cuddled with each other instead, using Gajeel's chest with Levy as their pillow. The iron slayer was a small few steps away from the twin-chainsaw noses and was propped up on one of the massive stuffed animals (the dragon that Laxus had gotten her at the festival last year) and seemed to be just as asleep as the others were. Wendy was curled up on the other massive stuffed animal (a Lion Loke had snuck in her apartment sometime over the last six months) and was happily using it as a bed.

"Sis? You up?"

Looking to her doorway, she saw Laxus poking his head into the room as he leaned on it. When their eyes locked, she blinked twice and looked down to her stomach to see Mira using her like a pillow. He smiled warmly and shook his head.

She tilted her head. "Why is everyone here?" she asked softly.

His smile turned to a smirk. "We were worried about our sis. Rogue's been going batshit crazy since you passed the fuck out," he whispered back to her.

Mira grumbled and turned her head in her sleep, but otherwise no one stirred. Lucy smiled warmly and shook her head. "How the hell did everyone fit in here?"

"Me, Rogue, Cobra and Kinana stayed in your living room. That's how."

Her brown eyes widened and shock must have taken over her features. "Cobra? Wh-.. What the fuck?"

"I'm right here, ya know, Bright Eyes." The poison slayer said in a deadpan as he pushed the door the rest of the way open. "Just because I'm an asshole doesn't mean I can't care. Besides, if I lose you, I lose my only intelligent word-play partner."

"Ah," Lucy replied with a roll of her eyes. "Still a selfish bastard, then."

"Damn straight."

"Will you two leave her to rest already?" Rogue said, glaring at the two second gen slayers from behind them.

Laxus snorted.

"Oh please. You're just pissed you weren't in here to talk to her first," Erik commented, raising an amused brow at the other slayer.

Who growled at him in response.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Just after six in the morning," Laxus answered with a gentle smile.

"Come get your mate off of me and let me go make breakfast," she replied with a smile. "Virgo's key is going crazy at my side so I think she's got some new treats for everyone to try."

"You make it sound like we're all fucking dogs," the lightning dragon grumbled out as he carefully stepped into the room to pick Mira up.

Lucy shrugged and stepped cautiously around everyone as she left the room. "Did you guys sleep?"

"A little," Rogue said, wrapping his arms quickly around her waist. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah," she admitted with a nod. "I'm feeling a lot better... I didn't think it would be that bad when I came back.."

Her slayer did _not_ let her go as he walked with her to the kitchen- pointedly ignoring the snorts of laughter coming from the second generation slayers behind them. "What triggered it..?"

Lucy bit her lower lip and paused at the counter. Her chocolate eyes were staring at the sink and a flash of hurt gripped at her heart as she remembered what worried her during her panic attack. A fresh wave of worry swept through her being but she soon shook her head. "We'll talk about that later... Right now, I want to make breakfast for my family," she insisted, looking back at the worried face of her mate.

He bit his lower lip, his red eyes still shining in worry. "Alright, then. Promise me we'll talk later."

"Promise," she said with a nod and a kiss to his cheek, "when we're alone, we'll talk about it. Now get out so I can cook."

He nuzzled his nose against her neck and left a fleeting kiss on the corner of her lips before doing as she asked. Once he was out of the kitchen, she smiled warmly and summoned Virgo- whose key was warm as hell against her thigh. As soon as the maiden was in the kitchen, Lucy was pulled into a strong pair of feminine arms. "I'm sorry for not coming sooner, Princess. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Virgo. Thank you," Lucy whispered, wrapping her arms around the pink haired spirit in return. After a long and soothing hug from one of her absolute dearest friends, the blonde stepped back and offered a challenging smile. "I have eight slayers to feed this morning. Do you think you can help me out?"

The spirit's stoic mask broke for the moment when her blue eyes widened. "Eight dragon slayers?"

"No, Virgo. Seven dragon slayers and one god slayer," Lucy quickly corrected.

"Right. What elements, Princess?"

"Poison, two lightning slayers, shadow, light, fire, iron and air. All of which have a mate except the wind slayer," she answered and watched in amusement as Virgo disappeared in a flash of gold. In less than a second, Virgo was coming back through with a bunch of raw foodstuffs and eight black boxes. Lucy smiled warmly and nodded as Virgo helped her move around the kitchen like clockwork.

When things were mostly done, she looked back to the living room to see Sting, Mira, Kinana and Yukino had all gotten up while she was cooking. Wendy seemed to be coming through the doorway, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as well. Virgo disappeared again after the assessment had been made and Lucy left the kitchen for Virgo to finish doing her thing.

"Morning," she greeted with a wave.

"Good morning, Lucy! Are you feeling any better today?" Mira asked with happy eyes.

The blonde nodded and smiled warmly. "Much. Could you all wake everyone up? Breakfast is almost-"

"Princess? May I?" Virgo asked, peeking in from the kitchen as well.

Brown eyes blinked twice as she looked at her spirit. "I suppose..?"

"I need a head count, is all. I assumed for fifteen. Is this correct?"

"Yeah, it is, masochist," Cobra growled out, though his eye was gleaming in amusement. Lucy didn't comment, though. She did _not_ want to hear what was going on in Virgo's mind. Or her soul. "You really don't, Bright Eyes."

"Stop that," she admonished with a glare.

"Breakfast is done, then."

The spirit bowed and left one more. Lucy rolled her eyes and looked to the five slayers already awake. "Cover your ears." She waited only long enough for them to get their ears covered before she screamed out " _BREAKFAST IS ON THE TABLE!_ "

Which had everyone grumbling at the rude awakening.

Virgo had changed the table out in the kitchen and had fifteen chairs around it, as expected, and a buffet of a breakfast was in the center of the wide table. At every other chair was a black box with the lid off and various treats were inside- mostly bars that looked to be made of granola, but had obvious sparks of elements in them. Everyone was seated and conversation soon broke out over the otherwise quiet breakfast. Lucy reassured everyone that she was fine but that going to the guild wasn't necessarily a good idea for the moment.

Wendy said that Carla, Lily and Happy took Lector and Frosch to visit the Exceed Village for the night to give everyone a small bout of privacy. Rogue seemed miffed that nobody had told him before, and thoroughly cursed every deity known to man- and known to dragon- about Frosch getting home safely. Which thoroughly amused everyone around.

Sting commented that Yukino needed to steal Virgo from Lucy so that he could get more treats like the ones he had been given- which Orga commented that she should just move in with Rogue so they could both get more like it. This caused Rogue to turn a shade of red that shouldn't have been possible, but the topic was dropped when Natsu threatened to fight them all off to keep his partner there... And Rogue got defensive about her being Natsu's partner. Mira said that since Lucy was the only one to go into heat that she better have blonde haired red eyed babies to spoil soon. This, of course, caused Lucy and Rogue to both turn red as well. Minerva cackled at that and the conversation was soon steered to the Eclipse.

Lucy snitched on Rogue's pillow fort- that was _still_ up in his living room. Yukino told on Sting about his hoard of clothes and Levy _finally_ got to talk about Gajeel's hoard of shiny objects. Mira contributed that Laxus had hoarded all of the lacrima he could find under the couch in his living room- as though that would stop someone from finding it. Lisanna said that Natsu didn't need to hoard what he would have otherwise since all of the food in their house was already in the same spot- though he didn't leave the kitchen for long. Wendy didn't talk much about what happened to her, but did say that it took a while to put all the glass objects away afterwards. Kinana finally told everyone what happened with Cobra, as well, and everyone agreed that his was the only hoard that made any sense.

At least venomous plants corresponded with his magic a little. Rogue seemed unaffected by the teases but Sting was showing obvious signs of embarrassment. He seemed to be the only one- well, excluding the embarrassment Gajeel hid very well. Wendy seemed distant about the entire thing, but nobody pressed her for information. They knew that she would talk about it if and when she was ready to- and they also knew that Levy and Lucy would _murder_ anyone who pressed the young slayer into talking before she was ready to.

But, then again, that was before it happened.

Before time froze.

The dripping of the water faucet that Lucy apparently hadn't completely twisted to turn off was frozen- the droplet still suspended in air. The sound of Laxus's soundpods he hadn't turned off on the couch was gone. The morning light that was creeping through the window was replaced by blackened skies. The chirping of birds from the window- gone. The sounds of the pedestrians outside walking to and fro- gone. The idle chatter of everyone dulled in an instant.

One voice cut through the silence and through the chatter with the power of it.

Two words silenced and awed most everyone at the table.

"Old Friend."

Lucy smiled warmly and turned to the very large celestial man who _seemed_ to have taken down everything to stand right at the edge of her apartment.

"Hey Stache Face!"


	20. The Plea for Help

_**Author's Note:** Hi guys, I'm not dead and I'm not giving up on this story either! Life got in the way for a very long time there and after it calmed down, I just lost muse for this story. I fell back into RPing on Tumblr on my Orga blog and well... I'll be honest. I forgot about this, lol whoopsie. Anyway, I have all but the final three chapters written in Google Docs now because I didn't want to update when I didn't have things pre-written._

 _This way, even if life prevents me from writing, I still have chapters I can upload in the mean time while being distracted by life. Anyway, as I said, I haven't given up on this story and it's almost completely done. I'm excited to get the next few chapters out to see your reactions to what I have planned in this story- especially this chapter's ending :3c OH HOLD ON, so I plan on updating again on **June 8th** , to give me a little more time to get used to posting again. I know it's over a week out, but please bear with me. After that, though, I plan on updating every Monday._

 _There's a comment from someone like a whiiile back. Proonnggs left a comment about the end reveal of this chapter on the last chapter, and I have to congratulate you for being the first one to point it out so quickly. Looks like I need to work on being more cryptic and less straight forward (;_

 _Onto the story! I hope you're still with me on this, I hope you all still enjoy it and I cannot explain how thankful I am to you all who have stuck around for the eventual end of this story. Thank you all so much._

 _Special thanks to my little sister who nearly punched me in the face in excitement when I told her that I was working on finishing this story._

* * *

 _ **The Plea for Help**_

Yukino's eyes were wide, awe-struck and shaken to her core. Her hands were trembling and Sting soon had a hand on her back trying to calm her down. It didn't seem to work, and while quite a few people present were shaken and stirred, quieted by the sheer power in his presence, there were a few who didn't seem to care much. Still, Yukino didn't get a good conversation with the King that she clearly remembered after his previous catastrophe.

"HEY, IT'S MUSTACHE MAN!" Natsu yelled jovially, both his hands raising in happy surprise.

Wendy and Levy both giggled at this and offered their own greetings and shy waves.

"L-Lucy… Y-You mean to tell me that the King calls yo-"

"My Old Friend," the Celestial King finished for the other celestial mage with a small nod.

Laxus blinked twice, his jaw dropping comedically. "Woah, wait wait. This is… The Celestial Spirit King. The guy Lucy summoned." Natsu, Wendy, Levy and Lucy all nodded at his shock. "...And you just called him Stache-Face and Mustache Man." Lucy and Natsu nodded and brushed it off like it was nothing. Like they didn't just disrespect this being. Laxus shook his head at the pair, though he honestly didn't expect any different from them. They treated literally everyone as equals- as evidenced by Natsu stealing the damn King's crown.

Rogue dropped his head a little in a casual yet respectful bow. "A pleasure."

The King bent down, his eyes coming a hair's breadth from Rogue's face. Just his eyes alone were half the size of the shadow dragon slayer.

"So, you're the young dragon who has mated my daughter," the King said in a very judgmental manner. Rogue gulped but nodded. His mouth opened like he was going to say something, but his voice seemed hidden. Having such a huge, imposing, and clearly powerful father figure stare him in the eyes was unnerving, to say the very least.

His mouth opened again. "I… Dragon… Yes."

Congratulations, Rogue, you made words despite their lack of sense.

The King suddenly threw his head back with a deep, powerful laugh and returned to his original standing position. "Sagittarius was right! You are a fun one!"

Lucy giggled and rolled her eyes. "Stop messing with my mate, Stache-Face."

"Yes, yes. As much as I would love for this meeting to come with pleasantries, I must inquire for your assistance."

The Blonde turned her attention back to her pink-haired partner. The two eyed each other down, calculating carefully. An unspoken question was both asked and answered in the air, the unwavering trust between the two leading to the clear acknowledgement of having each other's backs. Soon, both pairs of eyes were looking, determinedly, at the King. "Alright, what's going on?"

A hefty sigh left the King. "Before we get into it, I must ask Lady Yukino and you both to call upon the Twelve. Do not worry about holding the gates open, I shall keep them for you. But, I need you to show me you can open them all."

Two sets of brown eyes looked at each other and nodded, even if Lucy was skeptical. He asked for twelve…

"Open, Gates of the Scales and Twin Fish! Libra, Pisces!" Yukino called, pushing both gates open with no problem. The two appeared to the left of the King, standing at attention as though they were a part of the militia.

Lucy looked back at Rogue, brown meeting red, for the courage to continue. "Leo, Virgo, Capricorn!" Even without the incantation, the three appeared on the right of the King. "Gemini, Sagittarius!" Again, one at a time, they appeared further down the right. "Cancer, Taurus, Aries!" The three, this time, fell on the left side. "Scorpio!" And he was on the left.

With eleven of the twelve zodiac in presence, Lucy fidgeted. It was no problem to get them all through, but it was obvious that there were six on one side while only five were on the other. At this, the King turned to Yukino.

"Twelve. Please call Ophiuchus."

Yukino blinked and stuttered an apology before calling forth the serpent of the thirteenth key. Again, on the left. Once that was done, the King nodded. "Pleased. My request goes out to all the dragons and their mates as well." His gaze went to each of the couples, getting nods of agreement from each of them before continuing on. "The Spirit World is facing destruction."

"Like Eclipse..?" Yukino asked, worry etched onto her face. Everyone involved with cleanup of that mess seemed to cringe, but said no more on it. Something had been done to their memories, making a lot of it hazy and unclear… But that was to be expected. Lucy and Yukino both knew and understood why it had happened that way.

The cringe that came from the King was obvious. He didn't like remembering that fiasco. However, it was Loke who spoke. "No, worse. Nothing will happen to us, but…"

Lucy and Yukino shared a desperate look with each other. The tension in their bodies felt unbearable, the shared fear they had, it was smelt and sensed by every dragon slayer in the room. Cobra coughed on the sheer thickness of the emotions before asking, "Not your persons, but your realm. Great, a crisis. We can't have a crisis, my schedule is booked."

While Loke narrowed his eyes in distaste for the poison slayer, the King laughed a little. Even his laughed seemed tense. Levy spoke up after this, trying to keep peace between the slayer and the spirits. "If it's unlike Eclipse but worse, what could possibly be happening?"

The King cleared his throat, even that sound echoing and booming. "It is a long tale, but it is tied with the expansion of magic that occurred when my Old Friend mated with the Shadow Dragon." At this, the two looked at each other in worry. Rogue slid his arm around her waist and she flopped her head onto his shoulder. They both needed the support, and didn't care about the others judging them. All but Wendy were mated here. They all understood.

"Four hundred years ago, there was an occurrence that tore apart the Celestial World, an event that caused five important constellations to fall. A War. The Four Titans and My Queen lead a rebellion soon after learning of the only way to save a prophecy from happening. The five had just heard from Anna Heartfilia about a Gate that could be built to restore hope in humanity. This would turn out, later, to be known as the Eclipse Gate."

Gasps from around the room could be heard from the mates and Lucy could feel their confused gazes on her back. Hell, she didn't even know who the person was who shared her last name.

"You see, four hundred and fifty years prior, Draco had peered too far into the Fountain. The Fountain here in our world allows us a brief view on the futures. The close futures. If one possesses enough power, they may peer longer, though it is dangerous. Draco learned of Zeref's evil and spoke with the other three Titans and my queen. Together, with the minds of Anna and Zeref themselves, they crafted The Gate. By enfusing such a vile object with their magics, they were held responsible."

Nods were garnered all around and a hefty sigh left the King.

"They were put before a council. Refusing to show favorites or play favors at the time, I thought I would be a just move. To throw my four dearest friends and my wife to the wolves. You, my Old Friend, remind me all too much of her grace." He smiled fondly at Lucy before turning attention back to his story. "Anna passed through the Gate and her ten keys were scattered. Ursa Minor, Corvus. Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces." Lucy cringed at the mention of her dearest mermaid friend. "Phoenix, Pegasus, Draco and Hydra. Their keys were scattered and picked up by various mages.

"At the time, there was no ruler of the Zodiac. There were four factions, and each held power of their factions. The Water Signs, Fire Signs, Wind Signs and Water Signs." Each of Lucy's company nodded, understanding that they were broken up, even if it appeared as though only Lucy and Yukino knew how they were divided. "The Five were fighting the council anyway, arguing their reasons. Each of the four leaders were picked up by different mages and caused a split. A civil war of sorts. Faction against faction. The Titans used this to their advantage and fought the council, physically, under the guise of wartime."

Lucy felt her bottom lip tremble, her heart hurting to know they were forced to fight against each other. Yukino felt much the same, a sad and misty gaze being sent to her three spirits.

"The council banished the Titans and my queen for creation of the Gate, for creating a civil war though they were not the ones to create it, and for killing seventeen councilors in the war. Banished unlike Loke. They were forced to never be able to use their own magic, never to show their keys, never to eat or drink or sleep in the human realm, and to forever walk as husks of their former power. After this shift, the zodiac were reformed under the council. No longer were their four factions, four leaders, but one group and one leader. Each were torn apart, half of their power ripped from them and each forced to take on a different power."

A sob left Lucy's mouth and she hid her face in Rogue's neck. Just thinking about the pain that must have caused them made the blonde hurt on a physical level. It was gross, that punishment.

"Once every two thousand years, the gateway between the Celestial Realm and the Human Realm thins out. This time is rapidly approaching us. The council has admitted fault for unjustly causing so much harm, as the future Draco saw has been brought to us. I cannot speak as to what it is, but I can speak my request to you all."

"Anything," Yukino cried, her voice breaking even in the one word.

He smiled sadly to her but nodded.

"The Eclipse Gate's existence was feeding them magic from our realm, though only a very small amount. Enough to sustain themselves this long but not enough to not feel pain from magic depletion. Without the Gate, the four will die. The stars will fade, and a power imbalance will occur that could shift the very existence of our world to nothingness."

"Woah, these four," Natsu started, "hold enough power to have the whole realm rely on them?!"

Of course the only thing on his mind was power. In his defense, though, Lucy and Erza had just metaphorically wiped the floor with him and Gray... And with the addition of even one of them to her belt would mean she'd be even farther outside of his reach. He could only really think back on the offhanded comment he'd heard Makarov make a year or more back. His partner in crime (sometimes literally) really did have a boundless amount of potential as she grew.

The King shook his head, though, stopping that thought process from going too far. "Without those four, the distance between our realms will not matter when it should, as they will take with them my queen."

"Th-That is so mean!" Mirajane said. "Why is that?"

"The Titans each hold a key to Cassiopeia's shackles, but they can only unlock her shackles by returning to our realm. Cass's punishment for treason was to be trapped by the magic of her closest friends for eternity. They, in turn, can only free her by using their magic against the shackles. When all four are broken, she may enter the human world and only _then_ will she be able to return."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "So she has to be summoned to pull her out of… Her own dimension, I can only guess… And then she'll return to the spirit world where she belongs?"

The King nodded.

Her voice got softer.

"W-Will it be like summoning yours..?"

A large finger came down to pat her on her head, a sad smile at her. "I know you hurt, my daughter, but I promise all will be right. No, you do not."

A relieved sigh left her and she nodded sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry…"

Rogue cleared his throat and Lucy nuzzled even closer to his neck. "Is Cassiopeia's fall the one that would cause the realm to collapse?"

The man nodded solemnly. "It will. Two forces hold rule over the realm- Time and Space. She sustains Space Itself, as I sustain Time Itself. It is why Time stops for my very presence. Without Space balancing Time, the very existence of our realm will shatter… As will the existence to every other realm."

Cancer turned abruptly to his King and his gasp echoed. "Is _this_ what you've been _hiding_ from us-ebi?!"

The king winced at Cancer's correct assumptions. One at a time, the Spirits turned to the King in shock, sadness and anger.

"I've gone four hundred years without my queen. My power to keep both sustained… Is rapidly waning. Without the Eclipse Gate, the four keys needed to unlock Cassiopeia's chains will fade out of existence… And my power to hold things together will fail soon after Zeref is handled. Creation itself will fall with his fall, as according to the Fountain, that will be the moment I'm unable to sustain both Time and Space."

"SO SOON?!" Leo shouted angrily. "YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD US!"

Yet another sigh left the King. "This was the only time we would be able to save her. The realms needed to be the closest so we may summon her without loss of you twelve's keys in the process."

Lucy and Yukino looked to one another skeptically but Lucy was the one to speak. "If they're stronger than the Zodiac, their gates will be harder to open. Are… Are we even ready for that kind of magical strain…?"

"Daughter, you barely are. Lady Yukino, you are not," he answered honestly. "It is why you must begin to train her as soon as possible."

Lisanna spoke up, her tone curious. "What does that have to do with Lucy and Rogue's mating?"

He nodded back at her. "The Titans would know more about why it happened the manner it did. From what we see, it's not a bad thing. It has only proven to be beneficial to both parties. Because they are more knowledgeable than I in more Earthly affairs, they would easily be able to shed light on the situation."

Lucy nodded and looked back up at him. "So we need to find their keys?"

"No. You must find them. They will be carrying their own keys. These keys will appear, at first glance, silver. Do not be fooled by this." He looked back down at Lucy before turning eyes to the others in the room. "I have no way of knowing where they are. You must hunt them down. All I have been privy to from the Fountains is that the keys are found on various missions you all take. Each of you play a very specific role. I know not who plays what role, nor who all will be of assistance, but I know it includes the dragons and their mates."

Laxus went stiff. "Seven Dragons, seven mortals," he whispered, his eyes widening.

The King grinned. "So _She_ has already reached you. I will leave him to filling you in on what's been heard. Daughter," he paused, looking back to Lucy, "do not fear to contact me through your spirits. As you, Lady Yukino. Aquarius wishes you luck."

And he was gone.

The Spirits were gone.

Her wall was there once more.

The water droplets from the faucet resumed, the idle chatter of people passing by on the streets outside filled their ears. Lucy let go of the breath she was holding and turned back around to face Laxus through her puffy, post-cry eyes. "What?"

The lightning slayer shook his head and furrowed his brow when looking to his claimed sister. "Bix and I saw her on our last job. This crazy chick came out, making no noise, and started spouting a lot'uv cryptic bullshit. We drank it off later…"

"Crazy chick?" Mira asked.

"Noiseless?" Kinana asked.

To which the slayer only shrugged. "No breathing, no footsteps, no heartbeat. And, according to Bickslow, no soul."

Yukino nodded, thinking about the words. "...Being without a life force could cause that… Without the Gate… Do you think it could be one of them?"

Lucy nodded to the white haired woman. "Could be. Did she smell dead?"

Laxus nodded. "Smelled like raw ore, not one I've smelled before, and decomposition."

Mira rubbed his back gently. "Do you remember what she said..?"

He shook his head.

"Let me in," Cobra pushed leaning forward in his seat. "If you don't fight me when I prod, I can probably find it."

Laxus blinked, suddenly hyper-aware of the other second gen's presence. Letting him in could cause problems, reopen old wounds, and even give the other slayer ammunition to hold against him. He gulped in worry and slight panic. But Mira's hand on his back suddenly felt heavier. He focused on her soothing, circular movements. Taking a shaky inhale, Laxus nodded his consent.

"Don't fight. I won't open closed doors. I'm looking for a recent memory, I won't have to look through old shit. Relax a little and let me work." Cobra then focused his magic towards his ears and through them, reached out to the blond man's mind. It was easy to sense the emotional wall, the negative energy, and even hear some of the pensive thoughts running around in Laxus' head. His eyes shut in focus.

He didn't need current thoughts. He needed memories.

Laxus could feel the poke at his subconscious and he tensed. Mira's hand kept rubbing his back, her other reaching for his hand. Her lips met his cheek in a supportive and calming emotion. His eyes shut soon after her kiss and he threaded his fingers through hers and opened his mind.

It was intrusive, uncomfortable, and he felt thoroughly exposed. He'd feel eons more comfortable and less exposed if he were tied naked in the center of Crocus. A small snort of a laugh was heard, obviously Cobra, and Laxus stiffened just a little more. Nothing had been said the entire time, but the longer Cobra searched, the more uncomfortable he got. He almost wanted to close his walls back up, but a thought echoed in his mind.

 _Don't_.

It was Cobra's voice.

 _You close up while I'm in here, I can't get out. You'll go insane with two souls in the same mind. There's not enough room for two people to live in the same mind without halving and mating._

That was enough to force Laxus to keep his mind open a bit longer.

And after another two minutes, he felt Cobra retreating.

"Seven dragons, seven mortals, a god, two ladies and a princess will be your totals. Time will show you the path you take, but do not rush," the poison slayer said as he finally opened his eye. "All important things happen in sanctions of 5 day periods."

Laxus nodded, closing his mind and opening his own eyes. He glanced around the room, still feeling very exposed, and tightened his hold on Mira's hand. Upon seeing no eyes on him, all on the poison slayer, he relaxed a little. Mira's own little squeeze to his hand reminded him that she was there for him.

Cobra lazily turned his attention to Laxus. "That was creepy as fuck, man."

"Right?" His comment was forced to sound nonchalant, and it certainly worked, but Mira could feel the well-concealed panic beneath it. "Bitch gave me nightmares."

Mira snorted at that but made no argument to his statement.

"What does she look like?" Minerva asked curiously.

Cobra shrugged. "Cloaked up like Death Sauce over there was during the Games-" Rogue pointedly glared at the man. "-but in white with a long hood. Almost as pale as Firefly Ass's guildstamp,-" Sting glared this time. "-flaming kinda red, orange, yellow hair… No eyes, white nothingness, hourglass, barefoot… Creepy, really."

Laxus waved it off. "So, if we think about this, we can probably find out who all is gonna be in on this."

"The Seven Dragons are obvious," Gajeel commented idly, "but do they mean the actual Princess or Bunny?"

Natsu shrugged. "I think Luce, just 'cause I'm biased."

Orga snorted at this. "Well, I'm the only one with God Slaying here. I'll guess I'm the god mentioned?"

"Likely," Sting agreed with a nod. "She called us _dragons_ and not _dragon slayers_ , so it's likely she meant the same with your magic."

"And why wouldn't it be Chelia?" Lisanna asked in earnest.

"Because King said _you all_ , and I'm the only one here, at the table, with God Slaying magic."

Her brows went up and she nodded, as though to say 'fair enough' with expression alone.

Wendy's brows furrowed. "So the seven dragons and the god is in order. If we say that Lucy is the Princess, wouldn't that make Yukino and Minerva the Ladies? King addressed you as Lady Yukino, and you were the Lady of Sabertooth, Minerva."

Lucy blinked twice and leaned forward. "Well, if we say that… Then we're now missing some mortals. Four, because Wendy isn't mated."

Laxus nodded. "Bickslow is probably one. He was told that he was a Knight and that he should guard the Prophet no matter what the Warrior does or some dumb shit like that."

Lucy's brows furrowed. "Assuming that's where we stand, we may be looking at someone who is gonna be like a Prophet and someone who is gonna be like a Warrior."

"So everyone here," Rogue started, "and Bickslow. That still leaves three we don't know about."

Natsu shrugged. "Gray or Erza?"

Mira shook her head. "If Gray was a part of it I think he'd be called a Devil, if you all were called Dragons and a God. Erza's a likely candidate, though, considering how close you all are."

Lucy groaned and smacked her head against the table. "Ugh. That brings more questions than answers!"

"Not to mention the keys," Yukino groaned. "So there's eighty eight constellations..."

"Two are the King and Queen who have no key, leaving eighty-six. Take out the four for the titans, and we're down to eighty two." Lucy said, mentally rushing through the numbers. "Twelve zodiac leaves seventy keys, and Ophiuchus drops it to sixty nine."

Laxus, Gajeel and Sting all snorted a laugh at this, getting a smack from their respective mates in response.

Yukino shook her head. "That's a lot of keys to wade through..."

"What do you mean?" Lisanna asked, leaning forward.

"Well," the celestial tigress started, "when I found Deneb, he was wandering around like someone had summoned him... But, he was holding his own key. There were no loopholes like this, but if Deneb- a silver key- can do that..."

"And the Titans have keys similar to Silver," Mira finished, realizing where it was going.

Lucy groaned even louder, not having bothered to lift her head from the table yet. Now, she wished she did if only so she could smack her forehead down once again.

Cobra rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Toots. Listen, the giant bastard said that we'll know this shit when it happens, and Ginger McNoeyes said not to rush it. They probably know more than they're letting on."

"But that don't mean we can sit around and do nothing," Gajeel argued.

"We won't," Sting agreed. "We take these two on missions whenever possible, over as many places as possible. Seeing as how we're looking for a spirit, Yukino and Lucy are probably with us on these missions when the King said he saw us on them. Don't overwork them, but when something comes in, a new team goes to check that area out with one of them."

Wendy nodded. "That sounds good. We can still be looking while things fall into place and get the search done as soon as possible."

Levy looked between the celestial mages. "Do you know when the distance is going to be closest?"

They both shook their heads. "No, but I can ask Crux about it. If he doesn't know, he can ask the King for me," Lucy offered.

Gajeel scoffed. "Like that's needed. You just gave shrimp a challenge to find it first."

Levy turned and smacked his arm, only causing him to smirk wolfishly down at her. "You should learn to shut up sometimes."

Natsu and Laxus both laughed at this, but Lisanna was only waiting for Laxus to calm down. Once there was nothing more than a smile on his face, she jumped to speak. "Wouldn't the best place to look be where you first saw this woman?"

Her mate wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We'd need a reason to go scouting, babe, meaning we need to check if they've put out another mission in the area first."

Mirajane shook her head. "We haven't logged any for the Ports yet. Lamia Scale usually gets them, since they're closer than we are." She paused, her brows furrowing in thought. "Though I do wonder if there's a way to have them legally pass off a request to us or not…"

"We can wait and ask Master when we go in later?" Kinana offered helpfully. "We do have to speak with him about this, after all."

The poison slayer sighed heavily. "Do we gotta? I gotta get running with Crimes soon, or the Pink Demon is gonna go blabbin' that you're pregnant."

Silence fell over the crowd as all eyes widened and landed on the purple haired barmaid.

"Wait… You mean you're-?" Lucy started.

Kinana let out a squeak and covered her bright red face in embarrassment. "N-No! I'm not! Erik, why would you say that?!"

He snorted and rolled his eye. "I never said it was true, I said that's what she'd go talkin' about."

A collective sigh fell.

Having a crisis threatening the very existence of creation itself was not the prime time to be pregnant. In fact, nobody even knew if any time would be ideal for pregnancy. The amount of times Fairy Tail mages have been wrapped up in some form of a calamity was astounding to say the least. Did they draw calamities to them or were they drawn to the calamities? It seemed like nobody would ever know the true answer to that question.

Conversation eased on from there, passing from one subject to another without hesitation. Breakfast was eaten, everything seemed so calm and relaxed… Though that may have been everyone forcing their nerves aside. Even with that feeling everyone was burying, there was a shocking sense of… Welcomeness. Of Family, just in this little group. Cobra and Orga were new to the crew, and the Mates never really had anything before this. There was Wendy, as well, somewhere in an awkward middle…

Yet they fit. Orga fit well with Laxus, Gajeel and Cobra. Cobra had his own special ability to talk with anyone there with a toxic tongue and quick wits that left most people laughing. Minerva seemed more than a little awkward in the beginning, but with just a few words from Mirajane and Lucy, she also eased in so very well. Yet there stood Wendy in an awkward middle place. She, surprisingly, challenged Cobra in the wits department and could easily hold her own in the men's conversation just before jumping in to speak with the women with absolute ease. Cobra had made an idle comment about her snarky attitude getting her in trouble one of these days.

Gajeel said he should leave, then, so she didn't get any more corrupted.

Wendy asked about the time he and Levy had sex in the storage room in the guild knowing she was there.

Cobra immediately decided that he liked the young woman.

They sat, making fun of each other and passing stories from various missions onto each other, long after breakfast had been scarfed down. Clean plates, feet and elbows littering the table top, and not even Mira's typical neat freak came out. The dirty table didn't make her itch to get up and start cleaning like it usually would have. Instead, she was too focused on the happy conversations. It was comfort, family, and it was perfect. Eventually, Lucy managed to pull Mira in on helping her clean up while people started filing out as slowly as possible. Nobody really wanted to leave this weird, complex and yet serene group they had accidentally created.

Laxus and Mira decided to be the first to leave, though it was obvious neither party really wanted to. They had their own things to handle, as apparently the woman of the Thunder God Tribe was expecting. Mirajane was over the moon about the news and was more than prepared to spoil her little niece or nephew absolutely rotten. In the mean time, they were helping Evergreen and Elfman remodel their house to prepare for the little tyke. And, surprisingly, Laxus was talking to Elfman about how good of a father he'd be.

A good while later, Kinana eventually reminded Cobra that they needed to meet up with Jellal and Meredy to explain what's going on. If they needed his help, he wouldn't hesitate to answer the call. After the comfort provided tonight, he was more than ready to run to their aid. Natsu and Lisanna filed out soon after them, having promised Happy a fishing trip. Wendy left after that, needing to go get Charla from the guild before she spazzes out.

"If you want," Levy started, "we can go to the guild and let Master know you need to talk with him?" Gajeel swatted her rear after she offered and he passed her walking towards the door. She yelped and covered her ass with her hands, twirling to glare at him. He only laughed.

Rogue nodded and smiled at their affections. Having been around Black Steel Gajeel many times before, it was a refreshing moment to be able to see him so relaxed and noticeably less tense than any other time he'd seen the man. "That would be appreciated, thank you."

"You have our Lacrima information if something happens!" Yukino shouted after the blue lass, who waved and shouted her goodbyes while walking out.

Lucy flopped down onto her couch, waiting for Rogue to curl up with her (which didn't take long at all). Yukino and Sting occupied the other end, and Minerva and Orga were cuddled together on the love seat.

"If that's what to expect from Slayer's Night, I'm totally ready," Orga nonchalantly said.

Sting nodded. "It felt more relaxed today and more comfortable. You fit very well with us."

Lucy waved them off with a hand. "Screw that, I'm ready to start up Mate's Night. All my girls and me hanging out and relaxing?"

"Ooh, we can totally order from that bakery downtown when we do decide to hold the first one," Minerva offered. There was a poorly concealed sparkle to her eye that vaguely reminded Lucy of Erza.

Yukino giggled. "Gotta get your glazed doughnuts in?"

The territory mage pouted and glared at the white haired lass, who only laughed a little harder.

"Babe, you'd kill us over touching your doughnuts," Orga chuckled.

Lucy blinked twice and tilted her head in confusion. "Why didn't you tell me? Doughnuts are easy to make."

Minerva turned to the blonde with wide, visibly sparkling eyes and a smile on her face. "...Can we make some now..? S-So you can teach me?"

Rogue rolled his red eyes while Sting and Yukino laughed heartily. "Don't steal my mate all day, Minerva."

She turned her glare to Rogue but then flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Keep pressing me and I may just steal her from you."

Lucy laughed and shook her head at the two glaring mages. She stood and stretched soon after and motioned for Minerva to follow her into the kitchen. "Come on, _babe_ , I'll show you everything you need to know~" If Minerva was anything like Erza was, this would be the best thing possible for her. A snack- even after they just ate- and a recipe to make her own so that there was no wasted money.

"Oooh la-la, I'm coming already~" Mini said, rushing after the blonde.

Orga and Rogue both pouted and growled. Yukino patted Sting on the shoulder and followed after the two, laxly sending a "wait for me, beau's, you can't make a mess without me!"

And now Sting was pouting.

* * *

Levy smiled down at her hand, entwined fully with Gajeel's as they walked down the street. They had barely got out of Lucy's building and she was turning to _'threaten'_ him about smacking her ass when he grabbed her hand. He threaded his fingers through hers and lifted their joined hands to his lips, where he kissed them lightly and turned to walk towards the guild hall. Levy's heart jumped at the memory and, again, added even more pep to her step.

She looked up at him, a happy gleam in her brown eyes. "Is that how Slayer's Nights usually go?"

He furrowed his brows and shook his head. "Usually we drink, but it felt more real this time. It always felt relaxing but that was… Something else."

Levy furrowed her brow. "Because of the Mates or because of Orga and Cobra?"

"I think them two. Not sure."

He was honest, and though she felt a little upset it had nothing to do with her, she accepted the answer gratefully. It was much better that he stay honest like that, not worrying about anything he may answer 'wrongly'. It was like the whole 'does this dress make me look fat' trap. Asking him that didn't matter- he'd be honest, blunt and to the point. He didn't care about stepping on feelings in the way of honesty.

And she loved that, so dearly, about him.

She squeezed his hand a little and he did hers in return. Her chest felt like it was going to explode with how happy and loved she felt in that moment. It was so small, but it completed some deep, buried need for both reassurance and care. Something as small as holding the hand of a loved one.

"We need to head home after this. Not sure how Wendy's takin' handling Lily, Charle, Lector and Frosch all at once."

She nodded, looking up at him happily. "We need to relieve her of brief exceed-duty and let Lector and Frosch know its okay to go to Lucy's now."

Gajeel nodded and that was that.

They walked in companionable silence, not needing fluffy words to fill any silent void. No, all they needed was time and one another. It was just enough to make Levy one of the happiest girls in the world. They fell in step with each other eventually- or, at least, as in step as they could be when one's legs were a lot shorter than the others. But he never complained about it. In fact, it only served to shock and stun her when Gajeel held the guild door open for her but never let go of her hand. This was more PDA than he was used to, the Eclipse notwithstanding.

But they were almost immediately barreled over by a Sieth Mage, pushing them right back out.

"What the hell, Pipe Cleaner?" Gajeel snapped, not appreciating being pushed around.

He _especially_ didn't like how he pushed Levy around.

Still, the only thing he did was shush the mated pair.

He turned to the doors and waited, then his red eyes glowed a faint green from under his visor. Neither knew what he was doing in the moment, but alotted him the time to relax and ease into whatever he needed. Eventually he sighed and looked back to them, the green glow now long gone.

"I gotta request that's kinda been drivin' me fuckin' bonkers," he started. His hand went up as though to push through his hair in exasperation but his helmet was in the way… So he ran his hand through the top feathers instead. "It has to do with the last mission we just got off'uv."

Levy blinked twice, remembering what Laxus had to say about it. "Wait, the one where you ran into the redhead?"

He glanced down at the short woman in slight shock but nodded. "Yeah, that one. Laxus tell ya?"

"Yeah, and it's actually pretty damn important," Gajeel nodded. "What'cha got?"

Bickslow nodded and sighed. "It's gonna sound real weird, so don' judge me… An' don' let FreeFree know what I'm 'bout to say. He flipped shit when I asked him 'bout it."

The blue haired lass nodded to his terms and motioned her hand in a circle to tell him to hurry and speak.

Bickslow shifted his weight from one leg to the other nervously and glanced back towards the door. "After that happened, a name came to my mind… I haven't been able to un-think it. And it ain't in my mind's voice either. It just says Oasei Pisca over and over."

Levy gasped, her eyes wide and frightened now.

He looked down at her and nodded. "That's how FreeFree reacted too. But I can't stop thinkin' it. I don't know where it came from, but…"

Gajeel's eyes narrowed accusingly but Levy spoke. "Has… The voice… Said anything else?"

The seith nodded. "Yeah. Only happens when I see Luly, her mate mark, or think 'bout the mark." He paused and bit his lower lip, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. "It says _one of four_ , too. But this mornin', I was tryin' to think of how I might know the name, and it said _Everything happens in five days_."

Red eyes narrowed further. "...Are you some fuckin' psychic?"

Levy looked up in question at her mate at his outburst.

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Lev. Five days? Didn't Giant Man say somethin' bout five spirits?"

She nodded and looked up at the sieth with a critical eye. There was a disturbing amount of unsettling information coming into play all at the same time, and it made Levy increasingly more and more wary of everything around her. "Bickslow, we'll look into this, I promise… But you have to promise me to never say that name again."

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Ya think I want to have this voice tellin me this shit? I ain't really got a choice, ya know… But thank ya, Levster."

Levy shook her head. "I know you don't have a choice, but promise me."

He blinked twice but nodded slowly. "I won't say it… Why shouldn't I, though?"

A chill traced down her spine, coldness settling into her bones. Gajeel pulled his hand from hers and lifted it to rub her back soothingly in response. "It's a cursed name. According to ancient texts, anyone the dead author deems unworthy to even speak their name will die a gruesome death within twenty four hours. There are accounts of people being mauled, dragons in ancient times eating them, being turned to stone before crumbling apart… People die when they speak their name."

Bickslow shrugged. "I said it to FreeFree over a day ago, so I'm outta hot waters. 'Sides, I gotta let Luly know."

Her eyes widened in astoundment. He was worthy? This definitely had to mean something heavy. Five days, five spirits, the cursed author... What place did Bickslow have in their little niche if he came forward with such heavy information of his own? Did anything entwine the way she thought it did or was it just jumping to conclusions? Her mind started racing with ideas and possibilities, but she didn't get to think too long about it before Gajeel spoke up.

"Were _their_ books somethin' like the location to the goddamn holy grail or some shit?"

She shook her head no. "I don't know why it's like that. O- … _They_ aren't inherently known for good works, mostly being one of the most laughably horrible authors in history."

A deep, aggravated groan left the raijinshuu member. "Why me?" Even the tone of his voice seemed defeated. "I didn't wanna be the forefront of anythin' at all... I just wanna live m' damn life and have fun, for fuck's sake."

A sigh left the short woman in response. "You'll be asking that even more when we get you filled in. But if you know _their_ name for no reason because of your interaction with the red head, then _their_ works must be hiding something…"

Gajeel smirked at this and pulled his mate closer to his side. "Li'l babe here is goin' on the prowl. Do ya want me to look for this asshole's books?"

A bright, excited sparkle filled her eyes as she looked up at him. "Please!"

"Alright, I'll make a few calls."

"We still need to talk to master and get Bickslow in on what's going on, too… I think I'll leave Crux to search for the thin point between the worlds while I look through _their_ work… It's going to piss me off to re-read that garbage, though…" A finger was lifted to her lower lip as she thought over it. "I know there's at least two books in the library, maybe three..."

"Babe, how 'bout this," Gajeel said, looking to the taller man. "Pipe Cleaner goes in and tells Makarov that they need to call Bunny. You head to that cavern you call the guild library and start looking while I make some calls for ya."

She smiled happily at him and nodded, stepping to her toes to place a small kiss to his jaw line. "You're the best!"

The sieth laughed at the pink covering the iron slayer's cheeks. "A'ight, so I need ta talk to Luly with Old Man?"

The slayer nodded, cleared his throat and pushed away the blush. "Yeah. Outlet said you were called a… Knight? By the dead girl, meaning y'er probably a part of this shit too."

"Gotcha, I'll go let him know, then."

* * *

Lucy laughed at the awestruck look on the territory mage's face.

"It's really THAT easy?!"

She nodded, smiling at Yukino who was also gaping at the process. "Yep! Milk, a little active dry yeast, salt, eggs, sugar, butter, powdered sugar and flour. Things people usually have around the house. Combine everything but the powdered sugar, let it rise, then use a large glass and a shot glass to make the doughnut shapes."

Yukino shook her head. "That seems so… A _shotglass_?"

Lucy nodded, lifting herself to sit on her now normal sized table. "Hey, when you don't have doughnut cutters, two glasses do just fine. The big one for the main doughnut shape and the shotglass to get the doughnut holes."

Minerva laughed a little and joined Lucy on the table. "Are we going to make the doughnut holes, too?"

She shrugged. "If you want, sure. We gotta let the yeast let the dough rise for like… Another thirty-ish minutes first."

Yukino leaned her back against the counter. "So what's the powdered sugar for?"

"The glaze. A little milk and powdered sugar over the stove… Goes even better with just a little vanilla."

"Oooooh," the raven haired woman cooed, nearly drooling at the thought. "That sounds soooo good. Oh oh! Imagine the possibilities! Instead of vanilla, we could do Strawberry or Blueberry or Apple or-"

"Mini," Yukino scolded, "don't get ahead of yourself."

The tigress pouted in response.

The blonde woman smiled serenely at her two ladies, her two amazing friends. They were so comfortable, so relaxing to be around… If only things started this way. If it had, perhaps they would have found solace in one another sooner. If she had just taken Rogue up to join Sabertooth in the year Fairy Tail disbanded…

She scolded herself for the thought, knowing nothing could be done about it. Besides, as they've bore witness to, changing the events of the past was a dangerous and frightening thing to do. It would have reverberated against the natural flow so violently that… That if she had joined Sabertooth, Fairy Tail wouldn't have gotten back together. It was a depressing thought, no doubt.

Rogue poked his head into the kitchen at that point. "Lucy? Are you alright?"

She started but smiled lovingly back at him and nodded. "Yeah, sorry… My mind got away from me."

He nodded in understanding and walked further into the kitchen without much hesitation, approaching her to wrap his arms around her. She melted into his embrace and smiled warmly, her hands resting on his around her waist.

"Awww, Love Bugs strike again," Minerva teased.

Rogue narrowed his eyes at her but did nothing more than that. They sat in contented silence for a moment, the only sounds being Yukino's footsteps as she joined Sting and Orga and their conversation. Minerva stayed, not wanting to leave the kitchen before the doughnuts were done, but other than the three in the living room all was silent. Lucy leaned her head back on Rogue's shoulder. He followed the move, burying his nose in the crook of her neck.

She hummed happily at this, her heart flooding with the mushy feeling when his thumb started brushing over her mating mark.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, just loud enough for only her to hear. She hummed again, content to stay like that for a long while. However, Rogue wouldn't allow that. "Do you want to talk about what happened at the guild..?"

A sad sigh left her at his inquiry, but she nodded. "They were… Acting different. Looking at me with _that look_ …"

Minerva turned to the blonde with a worried look hidden in her eyes. "What do you mean, honey?"

Lucy felt tears well up again. "I… was so selfish…"

Rogue growled soothingly, rubbing his nose up and down the crook of her neck. "You're not selfish, baby. You're wonderful, amazing even."

She reached up and wiped at her eyes with the heels of her hands. "Elfman wasn't yelling… Cana wasn't drinking.. Wakaba was smoking more… And the look… It was like pity and heroism… I-I don't want that!" A small hiccup left her and she hated it. She hated crying, she hated feeling this way and she hated the amount of times she's cried recently. But she couldn't help it. "Everyone was dealing with their own stuff… A-And I just threw my problems on top like it was supposed to be _their_ problem…"

Lucy then turned in Rogue's hold, hiding her face against his chest. She felt a woman's hand rubbing up and down her back soothingly and knew it was Minerva trying to offer some consolation.

"They should have asked," Rogue said through his soothing growls. "You didn't add anything to their plates, it's already in the past. You just opened their eyes to how much they didn't want to see."

Lucy sobbed a little harder. "I-I shouldn't have done that, though!"

It took another ten to fifteen to get her to relax and calm down. They eventually filed out of the kitchen to curl back up on the couch and Minerva rejoined her god slayer on the love seat. Nobody really spoke to break the initial awkwardness, but it faded nonetheless.

At least, until Lucy's comm started going off. She jerked, a little startled, but reached for it off the coffee table. Her arm was a little too short, though, and Rogue ended up plucking it off the table for her. She narrowed her eyes at him like he'd just offended her, and he only smirked.

She answered to see Master and Bickslow. Her brows went up in surprise, but she didn't question it. "So Levy got a hold of you?"

" _Nah, she got inta me~"_ Bickslow winked while Makarov face palmed at the response. " _Anyway, how ya feelin, Luly?"_

"Better," she admitted truthfully. "I'm just a little… Tired. Finding out about the world ending gets tiring after the fourth time."

He chuckled but Makarov smacked his gut to get him to shut up. " _What is going on, my child?"_

Lucy sighed before recounting the events of the morning. She spared no detail, going through from the moment she woke with Mira on her to how she and Minerva were making doughnuts… And everything in between of course. That was the important bit. He seemed a little confused at first, but just overall concerned. It was no question that he'd flip off ERA should they interfere with insuring the safety of the future and the safety of his children, but Sting was a much younger and influenceable guild master. Mentally, the old man filed the thought away for a later date. He wasn't too concerned.

Especially since it involved Yukino. There's no way Sting would put her in jeopardy because of some ignorant assholes who claim to be the governors.

Bickslow tilted his head. " _So, wait, I'm a little lost. What the hell needs to happen exactly?"_

"We have to get the four titan's keys. When they return to the spirit world, after we find them, they can break a shackle from Cassiopeia. When all four are broken and she's freed, we summon her and return her to her realm. She maintains space, and if she's not returned when the moment is right, Father Time- aka Stache Face- will die." Looking up, Lucy mentally went through the checklist to make sure she didn't miss anything too important.

" _Ohhhh, okay. That's easier to follow,"_ he said.

The blonde woman leaned back into Rogue, who immediately wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. "So what's up with you? Levy just let you know that you're probably in on this or..?"

He paused and sighed. " _Okay, let me run through this without interruption and you'll get it."_

Lucy nodded her agreement, looking around at everyone to make sure they wouldn't interrupt either.

" _You're gonna want to tell me not to say something, but just trust me on this one."_

This made her a little wary, unsure of where exactly this was going. Unease settled into her stomach. A tepid and mildly concerned look wrote onto her face… But again, she nodded her agreement. If anything, she could yell at him _after_ he got done talking. It wasn't much, but it made her feel ever so slightly better.

" _Alright so Boss Man and the Rai Rai go on this mission, see Flaming Face, get freaked out, start home the next morning. After seeing her, the name Oasei Pisca was floating around in my head. You close that damn mouth, let me finish."_

On reflex, Lucy had opened her mouth to yell at him but she stopped, closed her mouth, and nodded. Now she knew why he was giving her that warning. Now, however, Makarov was watching the seith with an intensely critical eye.

 _"So I ask FreeFree about it, he goes off and yells at me but doesn't say anything else. We get on the train and head home, you all show up. All is good, until I looked at your mate mark. My head started killing me and the voice that gave me the name also started saying shit like One of Four. I wake up this morning and now I'm hearing Everything happens in five days._

 _"So Levster wanders her short rear up to the guild because I know she'll at least let me know what's wrong with saying Oasei Pisca instead of just going off on me like FreeFree. Turns out the unworthy who speak this fuck's name die within twenty four hours. It's been over that, I haven't died so we're kosher. Anyway, Levy thinks there might be a connection, since it was triggered by seeing Lady Red." He shrugged at this. "Says she's gonna dive into Pisca's work and see if there's information hidden."_

After listening to his spiel everything went silent. A cursed author's name being brought up set her at a permanent unease, but the more he spoke the more she relaxed. Levy was careful about everything she dug up, everything she researched and every move she makes is damn near calculated. More than that, the little blue haired lass had a killer gut instinct. If she felt the need to research it, it had to be something that gave her vibes.

Makarov sighed. _"So now we play the waiting game."_

"Well, unfortunately, Stache Face can't just warp time for us. That would be so much easier…" Her brown eyes saddened a little. "But catastrophic in the long run."

Rogue nodded. "The flow of time isn't supposed to be messed with." There was an undertone of guilt in his voice that Lucy hated. She snuggled even closer to him and pinched his side with a small growl of her own. This caused him to jerk away at the pinch and look away at her growl.

 _"It's not your burden to carry, son,"_ Makarov said softly. _"All is safe now. Well, outside of this. But there's nothing Fairy Tail can't overcome."_

"And Sabertooth, Gramps! Don't forget about us tigers!" Orga called out.

A laugh was shared between everyone save for Sting. Goodbyes were had, a promise to keep in touch, and everything calmed down. Minerva and Lucy had wandered back into the kitchen to start on the next phase of the Great Doughnut Trials. Rogue openly complained to Orga about missing their exceeds and they argued over whether or not to call Lily. Or Gajeel, for that matter. Either way, Rogue was ready for his little buddy to come home and Orga and Yukino both admitted to missing Lector. Everything was going well.

Well, it seemed that way.

Sting looked up, having been stewing in silence this whole time. Yukino looked over at him, immediately feeling his gaze on her in a much different manner than usual. His eyes were critical, but she knew he was just working over his thoughts. Once he had words to put to said thought, he'd speak when he was ready. In the mean time, she just watched him with a small smile to let him know she was ready to listen whenever he was ready to talk. His eyes raked up her shoulders and she shivered lightly.

Blue eyes met brown.

"Isn't _that_ _name_ just an anagram for Cassiopeia?"


	21. The Prophet

_**Author's Note:** Alright, so it's obviously June 4th and not the 8th, but there's been a minor change in plans concerning updates. I thought it beneficial to go ahead and post this a few days early to be able to explain a little. Again, I have chapters written in advance- no big deal, right? Well, I still haven't had time to actually, fully work on the last handful. Keep in mind there are approximately 10 chapters left. Roundabout, anyway. (I'm planning on having this end around chapter 30-31.)_

 _I recently got a new job and it's left me absolutely exhausted, yadda yadda, me complaining, blah blah blah. Essentially, instead of posting 4 times a month (i.e. once a week), I'm looking at 2 times a month. Every other week. I don't want to get into a position where I've caught up on the chapters posted and have nothing else to offer for a while when I finish writing them._

 _It's just too much work and stresses me out to not have things lined up right, so please forgive me for that._

 ** _HOWEVER!_**

 _In response, I'm posting this chapter early in hopes this will help a little. I would absolutely love it if you guys left reviews with your ideas, concerns, and any questions you may have. (insert a heart emoji here) I adore reading your reviews, ideas, and responses! Hopefully you'll see chapter 22 come not next monday but the monday after that- if all goes well. I love you all, and again, thank you for keeping with this story!_

* * *

 _ **The Prophet**_

"Cassiopeia…" Yukino murmured, her eyes widening at her mate's observation. Her world tilted just a little, confusion setting in over her face. "Lucy! Sting's onto something!" she shouted, jumping from her seat to race into the kitchen, leaving the blond slayer watching after her.

He wasn't sure, since he didn't… Really know how to spell either name, but with how his mate was reacting, it must have made sense. Somehow, someway, his brain managed to put two and two together in the best way. He could hear them talking in the other room, writing down the two names to double check, and even hear them get Levy on the line.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to move from the chair.

Instead, he leaned forward. His elbows rested on his knees and his head was placed in his hands. He didn't get it. Eclipse was the only bad thing he could think that involved his mate… He even kept her away from the brunt of Tartaros. He was a protector, as were most slayers. Yet here his mate was, out of his hands, in some sort of otherworldly trouble that he couldn't fix.

It was maddening.

Not only was she sucked into it, but she was also called weaker than Lucy. To be fair, his mate did have a ways to go to catch up with the blonde, but she was working hard. Sting was helping her with her confidence the only ways he knew how. He was afraid this would set her back. He was afraid they wouldn't be able to measure up to the King's expectations.

He was worried it would all fail and they'd lose one another before it was time for them to pass. Not to mention it looked as though there would be five Sabers to, he estimated, fifty Fairies. Sure, they were sister guilds and they would help whenever needed… But it didn't ease his worries any. Fairy Tail seemed at the center of every major catastrophe, no matter if it ended favorably or not. That alone was enough to fuel his fear.

But Yukino… He didn't sense fear from her.

A sense of duty. Honor. Even nervousness… But no fear.

A sad smile wrote over his features and he exhaled, trying to rid himself of his thoughts. She was truly a rock to him, whenever he needed. He wasn't even sure she knew it. He leaned back again, only to meet Orga's worried eyes.

"Everythin' alright?"

The blond shook his head, knowing lying wouldn't help anything. "Worried mostly. I still have to manage a guild, manage a crisis and somehow juggle training and research in there, too. It's stressful, is all."

The teal haired man nodded in understanding. He, however, soon leaned forward. "Don't think too hard on it, alright?"

A blond brow rose. "The hell do you mean? I _have_ to think about it."

Orga shook his head. "Not what I meant. You ain't the one that's managing this. Lucy, Yukino and Levy seem to be doing a good job at that. You ain't gotta stress about the guild. Rufus is home, and we'll be headed back eventually. Hell, Mini and I will head back first if that helps."

Blue eyes widened, and the realization dawned on him. It wasn't that he was alone, bearing too much responsibility on his shoulders, but rather that he was isolating himself. By doing so, he was putting more stress and worry where there should be close to none. He had a whole damned _network_ to rely on. His mate would support him, his guild family would help with anything should he just ask, and the slayers would jump at the opportunity to hold a favor over his head. He had people to rely on, and that's what the god slayer meant.

His pride tended to get in the way of him actually asking, but that was a totally different thing. There were people around him who would help within a moment's notice.

He smiled to the larger man. "Thanks, man. We'll worry about that later, though. I'm damned ready for a nap."

The god slayer chuckled heartily at that but nodded. "A lotta shit happened before lunch even came. I don't blame ya. I think I'll take Mini out to town for a bit, though."

Sting nodded. "If Yuki doesn't want a nap, she'll probably glue herself to Lucy and start training soon."

Rogue had wandered back into the living room at that point, nodding his agreement. "Yeah, that's what they were talking about. Levy was told about your observation and they talked about training with Capricorn." He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "Orga's right, you know. You're not alone."

Sting nodded, sending a grateful smile to his longest and dearest friend. "Yeah, I get that now. I… Really need that nap, though."

The shadow slayer nodded, a smile gracing his own features in response. "I'll let Yukino know and I'll watch over them while they train. They're talking about working with Minerva and Erza, so I'll be sure to step in if needed."

The guildmaster sighed and stood. "Tell Blondie I'm stealing her bed?"

"Babe!" Rogue hollered, not bothering to look back. "Sting's taking your bed!"

"BOY, YOU BETTER WASH THE SHEETS WHEN YOU TWO GET DONE!"

Everyone laughed at her response, save for the wholly embarrassed blond slayer. Yukino peeked out, a sparkle in her eye and a quivering smile on her face just showing how much she was trying to hold in her laughter. "...Really? You want to have sex here at Lucy's?"

"NO!" Sting shouted, his red face only getting redder when more laughs were heard. "I want to take a nap! Not bang my mate!"

"Oh, so you _don't_ want to have sex with me."

Lucy and Minerva went strangely quiet. Well, at least until everyone heard them gasping for air. The two were laughing so hard they couldn't even breathe. Minerva bolted past, holding her gut and running as fast as she could, barely wheezing out that she needed to pee as she sped past.

Sting groaned and covered his face with his hands before walking towards Lucy's bedroom, flipping the other occupants off as he stomped out.

Lucy eventually managed a slow waddle in, holding her own gut the same way Minerva was earlier. Her gut ached with how _hard_ she laughed, but she didn't make any other comments yet. Orga, however, turned an eye to the two celestial mages. "Ya can't have Mini today. I'm gonna take her out."

The two blinked and looked at each other curiously. Lucy eventually sighed and nodded. "All right, all right. I'll see if Erza wouldn't mind working with someone else to help train us."

Rogue tilted his head. "Why would you need two?"

Lucy shrugged. "It has to do with what we need over what we want."

The lightning mage grew even more curious at this. "Explain?"

Yukino continued where Lucy left off. "I sorely need magic expansion training, but I also need to work on honing my hand-to-hand. Lucy needs pointers in control and a little magic expansion, but she needs someone who will push her past just that. We planned on magic expansion, then fighting. Me with Erza and Lucy with Minerva."

Rogue nodded and thought it over. "So you need someone who will push you, but push you in a good way and give pointers."

Lucy nodded and then promptly shrugged. "We just… Need help. That's the long and short of it. You and Sting- and the other Slayers for that matter- would go too easy on us and wouldn't dare hurt us. So we were trying to brainstorm on who would be willing to help. Minerva agreed, but if we can't steal her from the Walking Flesh Tank, then we'll have to look elsewhere."

Said man only shrugged. "I wanna take my girl out and pamper her. Can ya blame me?"

"Nope!" Yukino agreed.

The blonde lass smiled. "Nah, Mini deserves it."

"I deserve what?" Minerva asked as she sauntered back in.

Lucy waved her off nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it! Just have fun with your man and I'll have guest beds set up when you get home later!~"

"What-"

"Come on," Orga said as he slipped his hand into hers and tugged her along.

* * *

Lucy and Yukino sat on one end of the field, talking about meditation and various little things Capricorn has schooled her on before. The two were so engrossed in their own conversation that they didn't immediately notice when another group of mages made their way towards them.

"Lu!" Meredy shouted, running at the blonde woman.

Her head snapped over to the voice, completely cutting off her own statement midway through. Excitement rushed through her and she jumped up to her feet, running towards the pink haired lass in return. Just as everyone anticipated, they collided harshly, tumbling over and erupting into giggles as they held one another in a hugging embrace.

"Mare! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Alright, Pink Demon, get your ass up," Cobra scowled, lifting both women with his hands grabbing the back of their shirts to get them standing again.

There was a scowl on his face, but Lucy could easily see the merriment hiding beneath the 'aggravation' in his deep violet eye. She giggled at him and shook her head, looking over at the others here. Jellal, Bickslow and Erza were all there, speaking amongst themselves as they eased up to their group at a much slower pace.

Lucy tilted her head and looked up at the poison slayer. He _would_ push her past her limits and give her tips in the form of get it right or get poisoned… But she didn't think he would be one to offer his assistance when training. In fact, without Kinana here, she wasn't even sure he told her. To be fair, though, Kina was more likely to tell him to not do it than to push him towards helping. No matter what angle she looked at it, she was still confused.

The slayer snorted and rolled his eye. "No, I'm not here to help. I'm here to see Kina."

Lucy nodded at this and smiled. "Well, thanks for coming to see us anyway."

He waved a nonchalant hand, turning away to head back into the guild. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get so mushy with me, Toots."

"Wouldn't count on it, snake breath."

"You love my excessive bleach, don't lie."

"I'd love to bleach _you_ , if that's what you mean," the blonde snipped back sweetly.

He let out a small laugh and shook his head but didn't press any further.

"Lucy," Erza greeted. She held a gauntlet covered hand down to Yukino to help her up. "I'm glad you asked me to help."

She nodded and smiled to the others. "I guess she let you in on what we need?" They all nodded and she smiled wider. "Good! So what's going on?"

Erza smiled and shrugged. "We're splitting up. Bickslow, Meredy and I will be training Yukino. You'll work with Jellal."

Lucy blinked at this, stunned. "Wait, _me_? ...Hold on, what?"

"Luly, listen." Bickslow slung an arm around her shoulders. "You know what to expect with me and 'Zaza. We wouldn't do you any good to train with. Ya ain't know shit about working with Tattoo or Pinky here, but Pinky helps a lot with magic shit. Yoo needs help with that more than you do."

"Furthermore," Jellal started with a small but formal smile, "I've heard you've equipped yourself with a few celestial spells targeting the human body. Being that I use Heavenly Body Magic, I can probably help you hone those to the best of anyone's ability- just outside of your own spirits."

Lucy nodded, excitement flooding her system. Jellal was once a Wizard Saint, putting him leagues above herself. He would be able to help her without the shadow of a doubt. She gave a last hug to Bickslow and Meredy both before hugging Erza. "Well… We'll head to the second field. See you all in an hour?"

"Make it two," Meredy said as she reached for Yukino's hand. "We have to check where she currently is before starting anything, so it'll take a little longer today."

"Alright!"

Lucy and Jellal began walking away from the others, talking easily amongst each other. He didn't seem invasive with his questions, but rather inquisitive and awkward. She didn't think he had ever trained someone before, but wouldn't actually say it aloud.

Once they had wandered more than a hundred feet off, he asked the golden question. "So, can you explain how you use your magic when performing those spells?"

 _Bingo_.

Lucy shrugged, trying to think about it. "It's… It's like opening a gate that has no spirit attached to it, and using the magic leaking from inside." Her brows furrowed and she sighed. "It doesn't make sense… I guess that's why I can't use them very well."

"We'll work on that," he said, offering a smile. "So you're using the magic leaking out of the gate?"

"Something like that, yeah…"

"Well that's your first problem," he admitted, turning a critical eye to her. "As a holder mage, you shouldn't even have spells outside of your keys. The only caster spell for Celestial Spirit Mages known to history was Urano Metria, which took up such immense magic energy compared to what they were used to that it was known to kill the user. Magic depletion and all."

The blonde blinked and furrowed her brows. "You did your research… I honestly didn't know that…"

A small shrug was her response. "I keep my allies' magic in mind. Urano Metria is a spell designed to wipe out the magic containers. A holder should never have an ability spell of _that_ level, and the Celestial Realm is very sacred and works differently than out realm. The magic they drew on and activated took everything they had to balance it out. The more celestial magic you draw on, the more your own magic needs to shove it out. Using Gemini as an assistant was the only way I thought it possible to use that spell without dying afterwards. The fact that you can use it on your own is astounding to me."

Lucy's brows went up and she blushed slightly at the… Pseudo-complement. "So the spell gets stronger the more magic power I have… That explains a lot." There _was_ something about that very statement that confused her greatly though… If it was designed to kill the user, why was she alive? The thought was pushed aside, to be fretted over more at a later date. "Next question, maybe? I don't… Want to think too hard about it."

Jellal nodded his agreement. "Tell me more about your star dresses."

Lucy smiled, thankful for the distraction, and immediately held up a key- Cancer's. Her outfit changed to her kimono, the twin blades coming to form in her hands. "This is Cancer's star dress. What it does is give me a filter of sorts."

The blue haired man looked over her critically and he nodded. "Can you summon Cancer?"

"Of course," she nodded. As soon as the words left her, said spirit emerged and bowed to the man who was supposed to be training her.

Looking between spirit and mage, Jellal could only assess what was seen. "The blades come from his choice of scissors, yes?"

"Yes -ebi," the spirit replied.

"What else does this dress do?"

The lass blinked but shrugged. "Cancer's one of the fastest, if not _the_ fastest, of my spirits. I can move a lot faster with this dress, and that's one thing… I haven't really… Explored his dress much."

The blue haired man nodded and thought for a moment. He knew the two he studied felt awkward under his judgemental eye, but he was only trying to assess what was presented. "When you say filter, you mean that the dresses allow you to use caster magic without wiping yourself out?"

The two nodded in unison.

"Were you in a star dress the last time you used Urano Metria?" he asked.

Lucy couldn't help but be shocked. Her eyes went wide and she looked at her spirit, who only smiled to her. She _was_ wearing Aquarius' star dress. "Y-Yeah, I was…"

The heavenly body mage smiled, finally. "This is starting to make more sense. That's likely the reason why you didn't get killed using it without Gemini with you. Using a filter to allow you to use caster abilities would prevent completely draining your magic containers to the point of no return. With it being a filter in the form of a Celestial Spirit… That might be the safest way to use it outside of Gemini."

Cancer bowed once more. "Am I still needed -ebi?"

"No. Thank you for showing up, Cancer," Jellal replied.

Lucy smiled and hugged her spirit, who stiffened awkwardly but hugged back before vanishing. Her clothes returned back to the black jeans and dark blue t-shirt she had on previously. "Is there anything else you need to know..?"

"One more thing. What do you do with your magic to take on the dress?"

Well, that was a question she hadn't been asked before. There were a lot of factors playing into it that Lucy understood, but getting someone else to understand was another thing entirely. Her brain started going ninety kilometers a second trying to figure the best way to explain it.

"So, uh… Okay, trust. That's the first part. Without trust between spirit and key holder, it can't be done. The spirit allows me to… Oh stars, how do I put it…" Her brown eyes narrowed on a patch of grass in the distance.

Luckily, Jellal was eons more patient than most others she knew, so he wasn't bothered by having to wait for her to figure out how to speak about it.

A solid three minutes of silence had Lucy looking back to him. "Stop me if this doesn't make sense. Essentially, each spirit has a magic core in their beings. Think of it like… Like a Lacrima. It's different than our magic containers, but weirdly the same… uh… OH! Body Link Magic!"

Okay, that last part made zero sense.

"...What does that have to do with it..?"

Lucy blinked twice and shook her head to get out of her reverie. "Their magic core works a little like Body Link Lacrima. It ties to the magic pool of the summoner, which is why the spirit gets stronger when the mage gets stronger. The more magic power I have, the more they can let loose."

His brows went up and he nodded to show he understood.

"Okay so, that magic core is in their own person. So to be able to use _their_ magic means I have to have their trust to be able to use it. Um… I guess the best way to put it is like a Magic Transfer. How Natsu can use Laxus' lightning because of a previous transfer. But-"

"Hold that thought," Jellal interrupted. "So instead of a true magic transfer, if they trust their holder enough they will open themselves up enough for you to access that magic core."

She nodded.

"To access this core, you…?"

"Crack the gate."

His brows furrowed in further confusion.

The lass shrugged. "You know, like… A kid peeking through a door to see what's going on in the other room."

His head jerked up in sudden understanding. "Oh. I thought, initially, like you would crack it as in a shatter."

Her eyes widened and she laughed a little. "No, no no no. I just need to crack the doorway and extend my magic to them. They meet me in the middle and let the magic flow through."

Jellal motioned to the ground, where he eventually took a seat. She followed soon after. He had a feeling that they'd be talking for the most part of their two hours, just getting to a place where he understood her magic enough to know how to help in the best way possible.

They went through the basics after that. Yes, she did have to keep the magic flow to keep their gate cracked. Yes, it took less effort to keep the dress on if the spirit was present. Yes, it took more magic to summon the spirit without the incantation, she was just too lazy to say it more often than not. Yes, she still had access to Aquarius' star dress. No, it wasn't the same as wearing the other's.

They went through a myriad of questions together, just fleshing out exactly how her magic worked and working through various nuances together. She never had someone grill her so intently about the ins and outs of her magic. It made her very happy to be able to talk about it so thoroughly with someone who seemed genuinely curious- even if it was only for training.

Almost fifty minutes into the interview, Jellal finally stood. "I have a few theories we can put to the test. But first, I have to ask you to explain this just as thoroughly to Yukino."

Lucy tilted her head at this. "Why so? She's a celestial spirit mage, she gets it."

He shook his head. "You're trying to teach her how to use the star dresses, yes?"

She nodded.

"You're assuming she knows how to use her magic to tap into that instead of explaining how to do it. She could very well be using her magic in a more complex way to attain it, which means she's probably wasting a lot of magic she could be using elsewise."

The blonde felt her eyes widen at this, having never thought of that. "Oh, shit."

He only laughed at her. "So, theories."

"Right." Lucy stood up and readied herself for his suggestions.

"First, you're still trying to use your magic like a holder instead of a caster when you use those spells." He lifted his hands, holding them in preparation for a spell. "As a caster, you rely on your own magic, drawing it from within. To do this with a filter will be more complicated, but can still be done. Equip a star dress, one from a spirit that you have extremely deep trust in, and try to use one of the easier spells on me."

She quickly changed to Leo's dress. "...Are you sure about this..?"

He nodded. "No matter how strong you are, I'm quite resilient and can move fast enough to dodge."

Lucy shrugged and dropped to a fighting stance. "Should I try to use my magic differently..?"

The blue haired mage nodded, stepping back from her a few paces, but he never dropped his hands. "Instead of reaching out to a new gate that has no spirit tied to it, try reaching out through their core. Their magic is already tied to their realm, so it should be easier for you to do it that way instead of holding two gates open."

The lass nodded. "Loke," she whispered, summoning her trusted Lion spirit. He smiled but stood a few paces behind her.

"I'm ready, princess."

"Here I come, Jellal!"

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, Lucy and Yukino trained diligently with their respective partners. It seemed like every night they trained, they were coming home absolutely wiped and in need of care from their mates. Small things suddenly became large acts; a back rub, running and getting things the women needed, helping them to the bathroom, and so forth. It was strenuous, and neither of their training regimes were _kind_ , for lack of a better term.

Lucy had explained to Yukino exactly what Jellal suggested she explain, and as it turned out, Yukino _was_ trying to over-complicate things. By doing as what was suggested, the pale haired woman eased into using Libra's star dress- even going as far as being able to use Pisces'. The blonde desperately wanted to see it, but neither had the energy nor the time to be able to casually do something of the sort.

Meredy came along every morning and every night to help the women concentrate on meditation and magic expansion. The kind hearted and peppy girl suddenly seemed like a militia general in strictness, but it helped nonetheless. Bickslow came alone in the mornings, as well, though an hour later than when Meredy came. While mostly concentrating on Yukino's training, he also didn't mind helping with Lucy's. He was mostly there for balance training, stretches, and various subtle things that would help greatly in the long run.

Erza and Jellal were _insane_ to train with, to put it politely. Yukino nor Lucy could ever really get the one-up on them, no matter how hard they tried. And holy shit did they try. The bright side was that they were near-emptying their magic containers on such a regular basis that their bodies got used to it. Their containers were growing larger, slowly but surely, and they were replenishing magic a little faster too.

Levy had almost solely holed herself up in the guild's library, researching everything she could get her knowledge-greedy hands on. Everything from Oasei Pisca's works to ancient tomes surrounding the cursed author and celestial spirit books. Lucy had helped greatly by getting various approved books from Crux for the blue haired lass, which she could only be happier about.

Gajeel seemed to be okay with this, even though it _seemed_ like she was lacking in training where everyone else in their little group seemed to be getting stronger. It wasn't until the third day after this, when Lucy asked about why that is, that he finally talked.

He quickly admitted to knowing about how her magic works. Behind the scenes, when she went home with Gajeel, they worked on various spells until she didn't have much magic energy left. The more she emptied her magic containers, the more it would grow. Just like with Lucy and Yukino. Furthermore, the more knowledge she had and the more words she knew and understood, the more her magic worked. The better equipped she was to handle herself. Yes, she was slacking in the physical fighting aspect, but that was something easy to catch up on later, unlike everything else.

This made Lucy smile.

Other than training, Lucy was rarely seen at the guild.

Cana had, however, broke into her apartment and was waiting on her to get back from training one night. She had drawn Lucy a bath, added a small amount of a healing balm to it, and waited for her to come home.

Lucy entered, leaning very heavily on Rogue, with Sting and Yukino trailing behind them. Orga looked up from where he sat on the loveseat, Minerva sleeping with her head on his lap. "Shortstack," he whispered to not wake his love. "You got someone waiting on ya. She wouldn't leave no matter what I said."

Her exhausted brown eyes only showed confusion, but Rogue's features twisted in mild anger. "It's the drunk. She doesn't… Smell drunk though," he whispered to his mate.

Lucy felt her heart clench and panic rise in her throat. Rogue's presence next to her helped calm that down, though not by much. Sting and Yukino walked around them and to their little bed (courtesy of Virgo, since Lucy had been far too exhausted that first night to set up the guest beds). Rogue hoisted her up into his arms, carefully avoiding the areas she was sore at, and nuzzled his nose against the top of her head.

"Do you want me to ask her to leave..?"

Lucy paused but shook her head. "Um… Just… Just stay by me..?"

"Always," he answered almost immediately.

The shadow slayer carried his mate off to the bathroom, where the brunette was waiting. Cana was simply sitting there on the edge of the filled bathtub and motioned to it upon seeing the couple. "I… Got a healing balm from Porly. If you want to put her here, go ahead… It'll help," she said to Rogue.

He nodded, not moving his nose from the crown of the blonde's head. Upon seeing her once dear friend, so peacefully in her mate's arms, the drunkard sighed heavily. After standing, Cana wiped the non-existent dust from her capris. It was obvious she wasn't welcome here and she wasn't going to push her luck. There were so many Sabers here, where Cana hadn't necessarily expected Lucy to be so close with _Orga_ and _Minerva_. There wasn't exactly any stopping it. The blonde was just one of those people who so easily accepted and forgive anyone.

It was part of her charm, part of what drew Cana back to her.

Just as she was about to leave, walk past the couple, Lucy spoke. "Cana, wait."

The brunette paused, not having taken more than one step.

Lucy's brown eyes drew her in. She could see the sadness, the pain, and the panic within… But she also saw a little hope. The brunette smiled a real, but sad, smile at her in return.

"...Wash my hair..? We can, uh, talk… If you want."

The card mage sighed but agreed.

"I would offer to share a bath like old times… But Rogue is gonna stay in here with us just in case I panic… And I don't think you want him to see you naked," Lucy admitted.

Cana laughed for the first time since she heard about Aquarius. "More like _you_ don't want him seeing me naked."

At the teasing statement, warmth blossomed in Lucy's chest. Things were going to be okay. A snort left her, but she smirked at the lass. "Of course. I'm a bit of a jealous bitch, ya know."

"Oh, trust me girl, I know~"

The two laughed, together.

Their brown eyes met, both having tears lining them, and they knew. It wouldn't go back to how it was, but they'd be okay. They'd survive, they'd be friends, and they'd move on together. Rogue cleared his throat a bit awkwardly and moved to set Lucy on her feet. He helped her undress, getting snarky comments from the card mage as he did so… But they made Lucy laugh. He could still feel the small panic lingering, the small amount of anxiety she had, but it was mostly replaced with hope and happiness.

Even if he was a little uncomfortable, his discomfort was easily brushed off considering how big of a step this was for his mate. Eventually, he helped her into the bathtub and let Cana sit herself on the back of it, Lucy leaning against the back of the tub between her legs. Rogue sat himself on the closed toilet, watching the two carefully.

Cana smiled warmly as she poured some of Lucy's strawberry-mango scented shampoo into her hands, waiting for Lucy to wet her hair before working her fingers through the blonde tresses. "I… Should start with an apology."

Lucy stiffened a little, hoping like hell this wasn't about to go south. "Wh-What for..?"

The brunette sighed but kept working the shampoo through her hair. "For one, not noticing… But mostly for treating you like an ass when you came back. I know how you are…" She swallowed heavily, trying to stop her voice from wavering. "I know it was why you panicked that first day… And I'm so, so sorry for treating you like anything other than my sister."

Lucy smiled, her own smile a little shaky. The panic and anxiety grew a little, but was still small enough not to make too much of a difference. She could see her mate watching her carefully, looking for the first sign of discomfort. "...I forgive you. I'd… I'd die without you in my life, honestly. You're like the sister I never _really_ had."

Cana laughed breathily, a sniffle coming from her. "Thank you, Lu. Gods, girl, I missed you."

Lucy nodded. "I missed you too," she admitted. A second passed and she gathered enough courage to ask an important question. "Why aren't you two barrels deep by now?"

The brunette barked a laugh. "Trust me, I'm tempted to leave out and hit the cellar up… I just thought it would mean more to you, to apologize when sober… As gross as being sober feels."

That answer, finally, made all of the anxiety leave. Cana was back, the very girl she loved so dearly was back and they'd be okay again.

"Rinse up, Lu," Cana whispered.

Lucy nodded and dunked back under the water to get the shampoo out. When she lifted back up, Cana already had her conditioner in hand just waiting for the blonde to relax back. Once her back connected with the back of the tub, the brunette's fingers were once again working magic on her scalp. The balm in the water was causing her aches, pains and soreness to slowly yet surely leave her.

"You have anymore of that balm?" she asked. "Yuki definitely needs some, too."

"Second drawer down, right row. It's in there," the brunette answered. "But enough of that! You owe me some deets, girl!"

Okay, yes, Cana was _definitely_ back.

Smirking, the blonde looked over at her mate who looked to be getting more and more awkward as seconds ticked by. "What do you want to know?"

"Um? Start with how you got with mister Dark and Delicious over there~"

"I'm out," Rogue said, standing up with bright pink cheeks.

The two women laughed at his embarrassment but Lucy blew a kiss at him through her giggles. "Love you!"

He looked back at his mate and smiled warmly. "Love you too. I'll tell Yukino about the balm." He started to walk out but stopped, lingering in the doorway. After a tense, awkward few seconds, he looked over his shoulder at her. "I'm only a word away, alright?"

Her heart filled yet again, her smile turning gentle. "Yeah. Thank you, babe."

Rogue nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

"Girl, he is _so_ smitten," the brunette teased. "Tell me _everything_!"

"So.. Should I start with the letters..?"

"Yes!"

The two sat, talking and relaxing while Lucy enjoyed her bath. It took her a damn long time to finally move her ass around, as she _was_ incredibly sore, but eventually she made it. The blonde had been sitting in the tub for forty five minutes and Cana left soon after helping Lucy into one of Rogue's shirts. The brunette congratulated the blonde on her catch of a man before exiting through her window.

That one little action that Lucy watched filled her with such longing and sadness. She could see Gray leaving without his shirt, Natsu coming in despite it being well after midnight, Erza barging in whenever she got excited about something… A small sting of pain scraped her heart. That would never happen again. That part of her life was over, a new chapter had begun… And some things were better left in the past.

She felt his presence before he touched her, his arms wrapping around her waist. He pulled her so that her back was flush against his front. She leaned her head back on his shoulder, smiling warmly when Rogue trailed kisses up her neck to her cheek.

She turned her face towards his and their lips met. A hum of appreciation left her and she turned in his embrace. Even though so little time had passed, it _felt_ like an eternity had. And yet, she still got excited by his kiss. Still felt the butterflies, the warmth, the toe-curling love he pushed into the simple action.

They pulled apart, his forehead resting against hers.

For a long time (Lucy would later estimate it was thirty minutes, but in reality it was only ten) all they did was sit there, wrapped in one another's arms, love shining in their eyes. Words weren't needed. They just felt… Unnecessary. Everything they needed was in each other. The world could end, but they'd still manage on their love alone. It was the kind of moment you spend with someone because of how in love with them you are.

"I love you," he eventually whispered.

She leaned against him more. "I love you too."

Rogue sighed heavily. "I don't like this."

Lucy's brows furrowed, scared and confused. "Huh?"

"We have so many temporary roommates. Maybe I want to make love to you."

"Ryos, we can't…"

"I know, just let me get my complaining out of the way."

"You mean your pouting?"

"I don't pout."

Lucy rolled her eyes, kissing the corner of his lips. "You totally do. Come on, let's go to bed."

He waggled his brows at her. "Oh, are you gonna stay quiet?"

She gave him the deadpan stare before laughing a little. "As if.. But I'll treat you when we get back to your house."

"...Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

 _Everything happens in five days._

Bickslow groaned, rubbing his forehead. Currently seated in front of Levy, who seemed absolutely frustrated at the text in front of her, he could only try to deal with his own growing headache. Gajeel was out, talking to one of his contacts, and Levy didn't seem to want to leave the library. The iron slayer made a point to threaten the sieth before leaving the safety of his mate in his hands. This, obviously, meant that Bickslow wasn't to leave her side until he returned.

"I don't understand!"

The sudden yell of the script mage startled Bickslow.

"If everything happens in five day intervals, that means the start of everything happened during the recent eclipse. Day ten would be when the King showed up, right?"

Bickslow nodded, understanding that agreeing with her was the only way to get her to calm down. Years of dealing with Freed prepare him for this.

"That means today is day fifteen. Something should happen today to further things, but we're no closer to figuring anything out!"

He sighed and leaned against the table. "Levster, calm down a little. Pin Cushion is getting more books for you. Not to mention, Red said not to rush because time will flow at its own."

The blue lass only groaned and slammed her head down on the table, absolutely frustrated with her lack of finding anything. He at least partially understood her exasperation, as his own mind seemed tumultuous in its own right. He could only hope that after this, the consistent headache he had would leave. Another two minutes passed and Levy hadn't moved her head… But it soon snapped up towards the door.

Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Gajeel came through the library doors.

"Babe," he started. "Gotcha this. Seems pretty damn important to me."

After passing a very, _very_ old scroll over to her, she squealed and threw her arms around his neck. It was awkward for the sieth to sit there while she showered him in light kisses and praise. The slayer also seemed a little awkward, though it only showed in the form of the faint pink on his cheeks.

"Mira has some ore for you," she said before placing a final kiss to his lips. "Go get some before you throw a fit."

He grumbled a little, nodded to Bickslow to continue watching over his mate, and left the library. The script mage seemed absolutely excited to jump into the scroll and grabbed her own stack of parchment to take notes with. Everything seemed wholly decent, normal as could be in their situation, until she gasped.

"Hm?" he asked.

She pointed at the scroll, looking up at him with wide eyes. "This is what we were looking for."

His brows furrowed and he looked over. The scroll was written in ancient text, a language he couldn't decipher, but more than that the words… The letters themselves were shaking, vibrating, and glowing an off-red shade. Unease settled in his stomach.

"This is called _The Fifth Moment_ ," she started, reading through the letters as though it _wasn't_ giving off a strange energy of its own. "It even starts with an ancient way of saying _Everything corresponds to the fifth moment_."

Bickslow groaned loudly, rubbing his eyes with his hands under his visor. She looked up at him, concerned for his well being.

"Are you okay?"

He refused to look at her or the scroll she was looking at. "Do you not _see_ that?"

Levy's brows furrowed, looking back at the text and shook her head. "Nothing's wrong with it, I don't think. I mean, it's in black ink on yellowish parchment because it's so old but nothing's wrong…"

The sieth felt unease wash over him fully. His jaw clenched and he shook his head. "Call Gajeel in here."

She looked up at the tall man and nodded, not questioning his judgement. "Gaj! Hurry down here!" she shouted.

The rapid thumping of the upstairs footsteps could be heard as the iron slayer quite literally _ran_ downstairs and _threw the doors open_. His wide, red eyes went back and forth between the two, confused and concerned. "Wha's goin on?"

"Look at that," Bix said as he pointed at the offending scroll. "What do you see?"

The man slowly stepped forward, now fully concerned that he brought a cursed object back for his mate to see. However, upon looking at the scroll, he didn't see anything wrong with it. "...Just written in some garbled shit of a language. Why?"

The sieth sighed. "To me, the letters are shaking and glowing a faint red."

Levy jerked her head up, looking up at the man with a determined stare. Gajeel looked down at his mate, confused but worried. "It's enchanted."

Pierced brows furrowed. "But I can't see it either?"

"It's enchanted for the worthy one to see it. But he can't decipher anything because he doesn't know the language," she explained, rolling the rather short scroll out completely. "Is the whole thing doing that?"

Taking another quick look at it, the sieth nodded.

The voice came back.

 _When the Prophet awakens, you must ignore the Warrior and stay by her side to assist your Princess._

He groaned louder, holding his head between his hands fully now.

Gajeel stepped towards the man. "Ya hearin' it again..?"

Bickslow nodded. "Something about the prophet awakening."

Panic nearly choked the iron slayer, his stomach dropping to his feet. The Prophet wasn't someone _outside_ of their group, The Prophet was his mate. Levy. Looking down at the little script mage with worried eyes, she seemed to come to the same conclusion… But unlike him, she didn't seem scared or worried or anything of the like. She seemed ready, excited even. This was the moment they were all waiting for. This was it. Gajeel was about to argue, to bring up the point of her safety and her well being…

But one glare from his mate let him know everything he needed to know. She was ready to do this, she _wanted_ to do this.

"Bickslow, use your magic on it."

He looked up at her, startled by her demand.

Glancing to Gajeel, he shook his head. "No, we don't know what will happen-"

"This is what we've been waiting on, Bix. Use your magic on it."

Gajeel looked at his mate sadly but then nodded his agreement to the sieth. The taller man took a deep breath, only to exhale a sigh. "If anything happens, go get Laxus and Luly immediately."

The iron slayer nodded, his eyes hardening.

Bickslow took his visor off, casting an apologetic look to the slayer. He seemed grateful for the look, but still looked away from it, deeply unsettled by the turn of events. This wasn't what he had in mind. He wanted nothing more to steal his mate, to hold her and shelter her from the happenings, but he knew he couldn't do that. This was her calling. This was something he couldn't get in the way of, punch his way out of. And that stung more than anything. Even still, he couldn't bring himself to leave.

The sieth didn't know what exactly to do in this situation, but activated his figure eyes nonetheless. Levy made a point to keep her eyes on the scroll and not on the sieth mage to keep from falling under his spell. She gasped when she started to see what he did. The letters were shaking violently now, glowing a bright blood red, and lifting off the script. The sieth did nothing but keep his magic on the scroll itself, but his mind suddenly cleared. The headache was gone.

 _Protect her. Gather inky waters in dishes. Light ten candles. Stop the warrior from preventing her awakening._

"Gajeel," Bickslow spoke, his voice suddenly very low. "Go tell Mira we need ten candles, ink and a bowl of water, _now_."

The slayer hesitated, looking back at the floating letters with great trepidation.

" _NOW_!"

The shout pulled him out of his wary gaze and he bolted out of the room, leaving the doors wide open for him to be able to come back in when he got what was needed. As soon as he left, the words glowed brighter, shifting eerily from red to green to match the color of his activated eyes. While they were unaware of what was happening upstairs, they could clearly hear Gajeel scream for Laxus and Rogue- the latter of which to grab Lucy from her training with Jellal.

They could hear the thumping of footsteps, the frantic rushing of the iron and lightning mages both. Slightly annoyed by the sudden gathering of the two he told the slayer to get, Bickslow was tempted to stop now.. But he couldn't. His magic almost felt out of control, doing its own thing, but he knew it was under his control. It only _felt_ out of control. He didn't know what he was doing, only moving on instinct and gut feelings.

Gajeel and Laxus came in, armed with a bottle of water, a bowl, a well of ink, the candles and matches. Laxus' jaw dropped at the sight of the letters, which now started to move in a very slow circle. He was about to stop the sieth when Bickslow's mouth moved.

His mouth moved, showing that he was the one speaking…

But the voice that came out wasn't his.

It was a woman's voice, the very same that they both saw at the docks.

"Place the candles in pyramid formation. Light them," the woman spoke through the sieth.

Laxus felt his body move without his permission. At first, he suspected sieth magic getting out of control, but he knew what it felt like to be possessed by his long-time brother. It wasn't the same feeling. Instead of his head feeling light, too full, his body fighting the motions, he moved with purpose and his head felt crystal clear. He was following the instructions of the woman, even if he mentally didn't want to.

Once they were set out, he lit them, still not in full control of his actions.

"Now," the woman said, "Fill the dish with water and ink. Two parts water to one part ink."

Gajeel was the one to move this time. At first, he wanted to snap at the sieth for controlling him, but the look in Laxus's stormy blue eyes stopped him from doing so. This wasn't Bickslow's doing. This was something else, and all they could do was listen to the voice. Trust in it.

Bullshit, neither of them trusted what was happening.

Still, Gajeel filled the dish about halfway with water and put half the amount of ink in it as well, setting it to the left of the scroll that hadn't moved from the table. The letters started moving faster, almost akin to a tornado. A handful left the circle, striking and knocking out all of the lacrima lights. The flames of the candles, eerily enough, weren't even moving even though all hair was being swept up by the small winds being brought about by the cycling letters.

Then, they turned white.

"Leave."

Laxus left, following instruction even if he didn't necessarily want to. Gajeel, however, stayed stubbornly. "I'm not leaving her!" he shouted.

" _LEAVE!_ " the voice bellowed, even though Bickslow didn't move his face to make it look like he was yelling.

Laxus came back just long enough to grab the iron slayer and literally drag him out. He was kicking, fighting, chomping on the lightning slayer's arm… He wasn't about to be ripped away from his mate! Who knew what would happen to her? But the door shut. Nobody touched it, but it slammed shut violently. They could hear the subtle noise of the lock turning. They could see the faint, green glow that took over the door.

Gajeel roared indignantly, his arm turning to a large sword. Laxus barely let him go before he tried to slice at the library doors. The green glow pulsed and knocked the black haired man back, slamming him against the far wall with incredulous force. His red eyes filled with fear and tears "LEVY!"

Laxus had to grab the man once again before he flung himself at the barrier and only hurt himself more, pain written over his own features. Sure, the little script mage didn't mean to him what she meant to the man he was holding back, but he considered her part of his family. Part of the people he trusted. Still yet, he _also_ trusted Bickslow with his life. "Gaj, relax. Bix won't let anything happen to her."

"BULLSHIT!" He shouted, once again fighting the older man for freedom to go after his mate. "YOU SAW HIM! _THAT WASN'T HIS VOICE! WHO KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN_!"

As much as Laxus wanted to agree, he couldn't. First and foremost was getting the slayer to calm the hell down, which meant siding with his brother who seemed trapped on the inside. "That may not have been his voice, but he'd never put her at risk!"

"What's going on?" Lucy asked, running down the stairs with Meredy and Rogue close behind her.

Gajeel growled threateningly, still trying his damndest to fight against Laxus' hold. "They got her in there!"

Rogue's brows furrowed. "They?"

Laxus eventually picked the iron mage up off the ground and gave him enough of an electrical shock to knock him out. Once his flailing limbs went limp, the blond sat him against the wall he made a huge, cracking dent in when he was thrown back. "Gaj got Levy this new scroll by that person you all were talking about. Apparently, it was enchanted for the worthy to uncode. Bickslow used his magic on it and it locked him and Levy inside."

Meredy ran up to the door, placing a gentle hand on the green, pulsating door. It shocked her just a little, but not enough to make her remove her hand. No ill intent was sensed, only concern, leaving her able to touch the door and try to open it. When her hand hit the doorknob, though, it shocked her hard enough for her to jerk away. "The magic unleashed doesn't want anyone else in."

Lucy nodded, looking at the doors in worry. "She'll be fine.. Levy's tougher than people give her credit for."

"I assume this means she's The Prophet?" Rogue asked.

Laxus blinked, thinking back to the time on the pier. His eyes widened and he nodded. "Looks like it."

Meredy sighed and sat just in front of the door. She clasped her hands together in front of her heart and reached out with her magic, ignoring the faint pink glow on her person. "Let me in," she whispered to nobody in particular. "Let me know they're alright."

Her magic seeped through the underside of the door, through the crack there, and slithered toward whoever she could reach first. This happened to be Bickslow. She felt his confusion, his worry, but most of all she felt his sense of duty to protect the woman inside with him. Carefully, Meredy exhaled in a calculated manner, sensing her magic brand her wrist "Leave me here with Gajeel," she spoke as her eyes closed. "I can link him with Bickslow and Levy both, he can sense and feel that they'll be alright."

Lucy nodded and leaned down to hug the woman from behind. She didn't expect anything in response, though, since she figured her hands had to stay clasped together. "Alright. Call us if anything happens, alright?"

The pink haired lass nodded her consent.

Laxus sighed and patted her head. "I'll grab Poison Dick. We'll sit by the entrance here. If Gajeel goes off again, we'll be down to stop him from hurting you, okay?"

Again, she nodded.

Inside the doors, however, it wasn't exactly as calm.

Levy watched with wide, hazel eyes as the letters formed words in the air just barely a foot away from her. Carefully, she read the words over and over, yet they did nothing. They stopped moving. Just floating, dancing in her line of vision, the words seemed calm. They shimmied, reminding her that they were there- as though she had magically forgotten all of a sudden. That's when it dawned on her- she had to read them aloud.

She cleared her throat. " _ **Delo elitevhorp egleom,**_ " she started, watching in wonder as the words spoken already tuned green once spoken, " _ **Amlis tadnamlok amo atsiom. Damlis amo ava. Telav dleek. Edot igaar**_."

The sentences turned green, as did her eyes. Their glow kept getting brighter and brighter, until they began turning white again, one letter at a time.

Once the words turned white, their glow going from green to black, the letters re-jumbled themselves and rocketed towards Levy. She did nothing to stop this, allowing them into her chest. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, the green to her eyes gone, and she slumped forward. Her hands barely caught the table to keep from falling completely. Eyes still wide open, though now facing the floor, she felt the letters leave her once more and catapult into the scroll.

It wiggled, jostled, and turned as they went back- this time, in a whole new order. It took the short woman some time to gather her senses and realize that, yes, her feet were still on solid ground. The other works by Pisca were also rearranging, the letters lifting before resettling on the pages. It took a solid four minutes to regain her sense of consciousness, now feeling a lot better than she did even earlier this morning. It felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulder, her mind was opened to new things…

Her hazel eyes turned to Bickslow, who now no longer had a glow to his eyes. Whatever that was had completed itself. He carefully approached her, a hand resting on her shoulder as he eyed her over.

"You alright, Levster..?"

She smiled at him and nodded. "I… Feel great, actually."

He offered his own smile, though it was still shaky with nerves. He didn't know what just happened or even why it happened, but it was over. At first, he figured they needed to get out of here and get her checked over by Wendy to make sure nothing huge happened, but… He felt compelled to stay. To watch over her, no matter what she chose to do. His hand fell from her shoulder and he took a step back.

The room was now only lighted by the glow of the candles.

It was weird to be here with Levy of all people.

She looked over at the candles and then down at the scroll. A loud gasp left her as she _just_ realized the words were rearranged. Her bottom lip was brought between her teeth and she quickly took her seat again. "Everything changed," she whispered, her eyes racing over the text.

Bickslow took a seat across from her. "What's goin on now?"

Hazel depths continued racing down the scroll and she shook her head. "This is… Some sort of timetable," she stated. "But it cuts off right after… Wait a second…"

She grabbed her stack of parchment and her pen, instantly working on translating the text. It would take a little time, since the syntax didn't quite flow with the language it was in. For an ancient language, it still seemed like it was written by someone who didn't know that language very well. She had to rotate and flip numerics, rearrange words, correct misspellings and _then_ translate them. But once she did, it was easier to see. Easier to realize that she wasn't just looking at _any_ time table. Her eyes scanned the translated work and narrowed.

"Things are missing from this…"

"How can ya tell?" Bickslow asked, not bothering to look at the work. If she was anything like Freed, an unfinished research project meant no looking.

Levy shook her head. "Listen to this; From eons of sleep comes birth of new blood from that tainted. Upon given age, she should marry to a king of greed, an empire built from the seed of nothing. Burned, shall the empire fall, leaving the king in ruin with nothing but his princess to rely on. Yet the princess shan't be home."

He groaned and flung his head back. "Why does _everythin'_ gotta be all cryptic and shit."

"I don't know," the lass replied. "But I have a feeling this is Lucy."

His brows drew and he leaned forward. "Why do you say that?"

"Here," she pointed at her translation, "says; The four seasons pass seven turns before the princess unfreezes, unshaken and dispelled from time's grasp." She tucked a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear. "Those seven years we were held by Mavis' Fairy Sphere. That's what I think it's describing."

He nodded and leaned forward. "So Luly _is_ the princess from that cryptic chick's forecast."

Levy laughed a little but nodded. "It looks like it. It describes the fall of her dad's business, her mother passing after she opened the Eclipse Gate, and a few other things. It even tells about the fall of the celestial mermaid in use for saving the world." Levy continued to scrawl on the papers, making marks and correcting some of the grammar. "It's still unfinished and I still have to get everything in line… But I think I can do it within a few days. This wasn't written by someone who natively spoke Ancient Elevitian."

A deep inhale came through his nose, taking in the near-overpowering scent of vanilla. If _Bickslow_ thought the candles smelled too strongly, he didn't think a slayer would willingly waltz in. But the short woman seemed wholly unphased by it.

"Do ya need me t' leave, Levster?"

She looked up at him only for half a second before returning to her work. "No," she answered honestly. "You need to stay here. If anything happens to these texts or something, I'll need you to help me fix them again."

His gut jumped to his throat and he nodded. Whatever happened greatly unsettled the sieth and he _desperately_ didn't want to do it again, but he knew. He knew that she was right. That if something should happen, he needed to help. No, he didn't like it. Yes, it made him nervous and anxious, but he needed to stay. "Alright."

She offered a small smile but never once looked up from her translating. In fact, she seemed hyper-focused on it. For a few minutes, Bickslow found himself focused on the movements of her pen, the rhythmic tapping and scrawling drawing him to feel more comfortable. The overpowering scent of vanilla only added to the comfort and, eventually, he found himself nodding off.

Levy was mapping everything out, from the timeline looking more like an actual timeline to the various random letters that looked tossed in for no reason. After all, _time_ was spelled as _gea_ when spelled correctly, but there was a _c_ in it. _Geca_. Every time this happened, which was surprisingly frequent, the script mage would pull the letter and put it on a separate piece of parchment.

It took over an hour for her to get through the scroll alone. Events were scattered all over the place, the scroll ending on the battle between _warriors and phantoms_ \- that Levy placed on the timeline around the time Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail. It was scattered, all over the place, but still cognizant. It predicted every move they made, up to the unfreezing. That, alone, was in the timeline as the last place, as nothing was said about anything happening after that.

It was eery, the accuracy of it all.

The Iron Warrior's beating of his chosen, beating the princess, yet still turning a new leaf. The overtaking of the town by the Thunder Warrior and the Knight with two allies, failing, yet again both turning a new leaf. It even went as far as to show the Dragon of Destruction falling upon their _home_ , causing the freeze.

Levy still wasn't sure what this meant, but she was damned sure that scholars were very wrong about Pisca's work having no meaning to it.

Looking over to the paper holding the letters randomly placed in words, she couldn't make heads nor tails of it. If anything, it just looked like a child was told to pick random letters from various languages and just throw them all onto a paper. No matter how many times the letters turned over in her head, she still couldn't make heads or tails of it. Something, though she wasn't exactly sure what, was missing.

It was annoying.

She rewrote it a good twelve times and was on the verge of yelling, screaming, crying in frustration and just _giving up_ when Bickslow spoke- waking from his little power nap.

"Whassup, Levster..?"

His sleep laden voice made her calm down. There was no reason to yell at him. He did nothing wrong. "This… This… _Clusterfuck_ of letters is driving me insane!"

He jumped at her curse, but eased into a chuckle nonetheless. At his laugh, Levy looked up and glared at him. His hands went up in surrender. "Well, where did they come from?" An off handed comment, nothing more and nothing less.

But enough to make her eyes widen.

"YOU GENIUS!" she shouted.

His head tilted but he didn't say anything more.

Returning to the scroll, she mapped out the various letters. Placing two pieces of parchment over it, she copied the wrong letter and where they were located on the scroll. Then, she took her time to look over where it lead her from here. Her eyes scanned the letters, confused about the amount of V's, S's and C's. Bickslow's hands suddenly came into view and, just before she could stab his hand with her pen, he turned the whole shebang sideways.

Then, it was so very, very obvious.

Hazel met red and he nodded at her.

"It's a map of the Kingdom."


	22. The First of Four

_**Author's Note:** Hi guys! I'm very very excited to get this chapter out to you all!~ I hope you're enjoying it and I hope you're ready for a little bit of a ride with this chapter. I went back and re-attempted the way I wrote the Eclipse chapter to see if it worked a little better here. It kinda did, but I'd like your feedback._

 _Speaking of feedback~_

 _I have a bit of a challenge to my dear readers. I will be working a lot here in the upcoming weeks, but here's my challenge to you. If we manage to get ten or fifteen (somewhere between) comments on this chapter, I'll post the next one the **Thursday** before I'm supposed to. So instead of posting the new chapter on 2 July, it'll be posted on 28 June. If we don't hit seven comments **by** 2 July, then I'll hold off on posting the chapter until we hit seven. :3c_

 _I usually get around five per chapter, so this 'holding off' thing isn't as harsh as it sounds. It's basically the same amount of comments on the usual. Believe it or not, there's a legitimate reason for this. Your comments will HELP ME DETERMINE one of the finalizations in this story. I won't say much at the moment, but there are a few plot holes I need to fill. Next chapter will have a few things in this Author's Note that I'd like you to sound off about and help me fill a few holes I didn't realize were there._

 _So I'd like to start with four big questions: Do you want to see more on Romeo and Wendy? How do you feel about what you've read thus far? Who do YOU think are the 'totals' involved in this story? And finally (because I'm curious about you guys' thoughts on this) Do you have a theory about how this story will go, end, or what will happen? If so, what  
_ _ **is**_ _that theory?_

 _If you actually took the time to read this then hell yeah, thank you! I'll see you guys next time!~_

* * *

 _ **The First of Four**_

The same evening, after talking with Laxus in the lower level, the Sabertooth mages left to talk with Makarov about the happenings. Gajeel and Meredy hadn't moved from in front of the library, but it wasn't like Crime Sorciere had a problem with staying in town. The whole time Cobra got a chance to spend a whole lot more time with his mate, Sorano got to reconnect with Yukino since she was there, Sawyer was able to spend time with Gray and make new friends in Jet and Droy and Max, Jellal wasn't complaining about having to live with Erza temporarily… Richard was totally complacent speaking with Erza about Millianna and her old friends- which, obviously, included his brother. Even Macbeth was happy, finding new friends in Freed, Cana and Laki.

Gajeel and Meredy were getting close, to the point where he openly started calling her _sis_ \- despite it only being one day in. Wendy made sure to bring them food, help Meredy heal from magic exhaustion when needed, and even sitting with them so they had at least one more person to talk to. Laxus and Cobra tried, and while they succeeded in helping take their minds off the two in the library, it wasn't like talking to Wendy. The little lass understood more than she let on and could ease them into talking about their respective feelings without feeling pressured to do so. She and Romeo Conbolt were getting closer, much to the happiness of the others.

Lucy and the Sabers took back to their guild, despite the training they had been doing. They knew Minerva would help, that Dobengal and Rufus would help too, and that they had their spirits to rely on. Not only that, but they also had each other. After being trained for a while by different people and different crews, they could reconvene for a spar and take their time with it to give tips and tricks that they had respectively learned.

It wasn't until Lucy stepped back into Rogue's house- _home-_ that she realized just how much she missed it. Frosch was sleeping in her arms, snuggled against her shoulder. Her mate shut the door behind them. His arm slipped around her waist and he leaned down a bit to place a gentle and innocent kiss to her temple. The whole scenario made her sigh contentedly. This was something she didn't know she missed, but definitely did.

Something about being home with your beloved, nothing but time and care between the two, just made her heart so very happy. It was so basic, so simple, but it meant the world. Finding a plush pillow, Lucy carefully laid the little exceed down to sleep on it- taking yet another moment to get the blanket that would cover Frosch.

Once that was done, the little baby (as Lucy affectionately called the exceed) was tucked in and sleeping rather heavily, Rogue was quick to descend on her. His lips attacked her neck, his hands tightly gripping her hips in just the way she adored, and she was pulled flush against him.

She sighed but smiled, biting her lower lip. "I missed this."

He paused in his kisses, pulling away just enough to rest his chin on her shoulder. "What do you mean? I've done this, literally, every day since we mated."

A light but soft laugh left her. "Not that, you doof. Hold on," she whispered.

Lucy peeled herself away from her dragon, grabbing his hand as she did so. Her heart skipped a beat at the devilish smirk that wrote itself across his features. His crimson eyes gleamed in the low light of the home, the hunger and predatory undertone was written in the burgundy accents in those breathtaking eyes of his. She could already feel her stomach growing taut in anticipation. It took barely a second for her to realize that she still needed to move.

The blonde guided him carefully to his bedroom, where her stuff was already. Virgo was truly a godsend at times, but she didn't care to linger on the thought. "I missed _you_."

There was a sparkle in his eyes when he approached her again. He once again pulled her close, relishing in the easy way she conformed to him without argument. Her breasts against his chest, her chin on his collarbone forcing her to look up at him, her hips close to his own. She made him so incredibly happy just by being who she is. "I've been here this whole time, Lucy."

He walked them both backwards, stopping only to close the door with his foot. When the back of her thighs hit the bed, he lifted her to lay back beneath him. His smile turned so soft and caring in that moment, and Lucy was damned certain that she'd never seen something so beautiful in her life. "I'd never leave you like that," he whispered.

Tears lined her eyes for no real reason other than how her heart felt like it was so very full. He was an asshole, making her feel so strongly like that. "N-No, I mean being _here_ … Being with _you_ like _this_. I missed it."

He smiled wider and nuzzled his nose against hers. "You're right. I missed it too."

She hummed and brought her hands to his hair, happily threading through his silky locks. Using that to her advantage, she pulled him down just a little and let her lips rest against his. They molded together so perfectly, their tongues sliding together like an ancient dance they had been doing for eons. Like they knew just how to get under each other's skin enough to drive each other wild… But it wasn't wild.

It was easy, it was soothing. It was wholesome.

They pulled back and Rogue trailed his mouth down from her mouth to the side of her neck. He hovered appreciatively above her pulse, finding deep-seated comfort in the soothing pulses against his mouth there. Hands moved from her hips slowly up her side, his teeth nipping lightly at her neck. A soft, breathy exhale left her. She wanted so much more, yet similarly, she enjoyed the pace.

Rogue slid his hands under her shirt, over her stomach and back down. The calluses on his fingertips, and on the heels of his hands, caused a shiver to race down her spine. The breaths he left danced on her neck. The light grabbing of his hair, the slight scratching of her nails to his scalp, caused him to gasp raggedly. Her hips lifted a little to roll against his. He responded in kind, a roll of his own hips and a purr rumbling against her skin.

He felt the goosebumps rise on her skin. He slowly lifted his hands higher on her person. Her bosom filled his hands so fully, so rightly. His tongue travelled from her neck to what cleavage he could see from her shirt. She sighed, hooking her legs around his hips.

Brown met red when he looked up.

"How about I show you how much I love you?" Rogue asked, smirking.

Lucy bit her lower lip and grinned. "Show me, my dragon."

"With pleasure, my princess."

* * *

It was nearing midnight, when the glow around the door finally subsided. Meredy and Gajeel looked at each other with wide eyes and anticipation lingering in their guts. It only took ten seconds past that for Bickslow to open the door with Levy on his back. Nodding to the Iron Slayer, he let the man take his mate off his back- literally. She was snoring lightly, utterly exhausted from the mental work she had to do earlier. Bickslow, similarly, was tired.

"Are you okay?" Meredy asked the sieth, stepping towards him with worry shimmering deep in her magenta eyes.

He looked down at her and gave a lopsided smile, one that was only lacking in enthusiasm. "Yeah, we're both fine. Levster's a lot more tired than little ol' me 'cause I got a lil nap in, but to be fair, we're both fuckin' beat."

Gajeel, after feeling his mate and feeling her exhaustion, relaxed. She was safe, if only a little tired. "What th' hell happened in there?"

Bickslow jerked his head towards the stairs. "Let's go get food. She needs t' get up and at least get some water anyway. I'll tell ya anything ya need t' know once I get food in me."

The others all nodded their agreement, walking lazily up the stairs and to the bar. Laxus, Mirajane, Cobra and Kinana were the only ones left, both couples lingering in worry for those holed up downstairs. Upon _seeing_ Levy and Bickslow both safe, it felt like a weight had lifted. The barmaids rushed to get food for them, not complaining even once, and the group of- now- eight sat at a lone table together. Mira and Kinana finished duties and only needed to wait to clean the table they were all sitting at before they were able to turn in for the night.

"So," Laxus started as he leaned towards Bickslow, "what the hell happened in there?"

The man gulped down his bite of stew and took a drink of water from the bottle provided before talking. "Well, ya know that scroll? Enchanted for a sieth. Ya saw that much, but after ya left, the… The letters went _inta_ Levster. Then came out."

"More accurately," Levy said through her yawn, "I said the words needed to kick that into gear. It opened up a part of my mind, I think. That's the only way I can really describe it."

Gajeel turned to Cobra who nodded. "Yep. Little Blue here isn't lying. Her already huge ass brain feels a lot huger, but now her thoughts ain't nothin' I can understand. It's all in some weird, ancient ass language."

Levy tilted her head in confusion. "Strange… I'm thinking like I speak, though…"

"It could have something to do with that scroll," Meredy said, leaning back. "I just find it really weird that the door was spell locked."

Bickslow shrugged at that. "Don't ask me 'bout that shit. Didn't look enchanted on our end, did it?"

The script mage shook her head, paused, then shrugged. "I actually don't know. I was paying more attention to the-" a yawn caused a brief pause in her words, "-texts… I didn't care about the door."

Gajeel snorted and rolled his red eyes. His arm slipped around her, his thumb rubbing her hip gently. "Eat a bit more and we'll head home. Sound right?"

She nodded sleepily. "Yeah. I need to come in early tomorrow."

"Did you figure anything out?" Mirajane asked, resting her chin on her right hand. "You were in there for hours."

Because Levy had a mouthful of stew, Bickslow answered for her. With a shrug. "Kinda? Little bit of somethin', nothin' that'll help lead us to these fuckin' titans or whatever."

Kinana's violet brows furrowed. "What do you mean kind of?"

"Exactly that. Kinda. Levster says that once the words rearranged, it became a timeline."

This had Laxus leaning in. "What kind of timeline?"

"One of Lu's life," Levy answered solemnly. "Everything from her mother and father getting together to the seven years we were all frozen. Includes references to Phantom Lord, Thunder Palace, Nirvana, Lullaby and even the Tower of Heaven. It's… Scary how accurate it is."

A thoughtful silence stilled the air between the eight, the only noises at that point being the sounds of silverware hitting porcelain while eating, the slight crinkle of plastic from drinking the water bottles, and yawns from the two that were holed up all day.

Eventually, once both mages were almost done eating, Mira found her words. "So Lucy _is_ the princess?"

"Yeah, Luly is." The sieth took a second to slurp down the broth and empty his bowl. "More than that, I don't gotta damn clue how the hell Levster figured it, but she made a map that the scroll ended up giving."

"A map?" Kinana asked. "That seems more than _kind of_ figuring something out."

Levy shook her head, pushing the now empty bowl away from her. "It's not. It's a basic map of Fiore, nothing but major landmarks like rivers and mountains on it. I'm thinking I need to get my hands on long rolls of parchment and transcribe the spine-bound books to scrolls to carry on from here," she muttered.

Laxus blanched. "That's a lot of fucking work, Levy… Are you sure about that?"

She nodded. "Putting it simply, I thought at first it was because Pisca- or, rather, Cassiopeia- didn't speak proper Ancient Elevitian, but that wasn't the case. She spoke enough of it to write it just the way she wanted. The extra letters found in the scroll lead me to this," she paused to dig in her messenger bag. After picking out a black folder, she slipped the two pieces of parchment out in order on the table. "See? I had to put these two onto the scroll. All these extra letters in the words made the map you see now."

Cobra seemed fully intrigued at this point. "So, ya mean to say that you have to put everything on similar sized scrolls and start finding the extra letters again and _that_ might lead us somewhere."

She nodded.

Meredy sighed. "Man, that's gonna take some time.. I was hoping to go out for a job soon, too," she huffed and looked up at the ceiling.

The poison slayer's mate nodded. "I let my lease expire, too, since I was supposed to head out with you all."

Bickslow blinked at this, looked at Laxus, then back to the three. "You… You do know you can come stay with me, right?"

"I couldn't ask that-"

"Kina, hush, he's fine," Cobra said, patting her shoulder as though a little 'slap'. "I can't hear shit in his head 'cause of his dealings with souls. Don't ask, I don't understand it, but he can't _see_ my soul and I can't _hear_ his. He'd be great to bunk with," his eye turned to the sieth, "if you're offering."

He nodded in response. "Yeah, no skin just kosher. My place was the first of the Rai Rai's that was done, so I have four extra bedrooms. Take your pick when we get there." His eyes slid over to the pink haired lass, a smile tugging at his features. "That includes you, Pinky."

"Thank you!" Meredy exclaimed, jumping to hug him tightly in her gratitude.

He only chuckled and patted her head in response.

Mira reached out to hold Kinana's hand. "I'll take you on a day job tomorrow and the next day. I know how you are, so we'll get some light work done so you feel better about it. Sound okay?"

"Sounds great," the violet haired lass nodded with a shy smile. "I'll take care of cooking while we stay," she asserted.

Meredy nodded in agreement. "I can clean better than I can cook-"

"Ain't that the truth, miss _somehow manages to blacken eggs_."

She pouted at the poison slayer, but didn't argue it at all. "Anyway, I can clean just fine."

Bickslow shrugged. "Really, neither are necessary."

"They are," Mirajane tutted. "Let them give back, Bix! Take some stress off of you!"

"And on that note," Gajeel said as he stood, picking up his already sleeping mate in his arms, "we're out. Catch ya tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Laxus nodded.

The Iron Slayer looked over to the sieth. "You still needed in this?"

He shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Levster says that I need to be in there in case things are timed and rewrite back to normal or what the hell ever. We'll find out as we go."

The slayer nodded. "Alright. Well, try to not die tonight then."

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Love ya too, Pin Cushion."

* * *

Meredy, Cobra and Kinana settled wonderfully into the Sieth's home. Cobra and Meredy had to deal with one another on the regular anyway, so it wasn't any different than normal for the poison slayer. Bickslow only really noticed Meredy lingering around for the most part of everything, since she was- by nature- very loving, caring and a little on the clingy side. It didn't matter much to him, though. She was cute and rather adorable, so it made up for it. Nobody but Sorano seemed to complain about needing to stay put for a while, though that was mostly because her sister was no longer there to talk to.

At Sabertooth, Lucy and Yukino were becoming a lot more fierce. Their magics were getting a lot more terrifying by the day, and though it was almost akin to a snail's pace, they still worked daily and that helped speed things along. Yukino showed Lucy her Pisces Star Dress- which was absolutely gorgeous- and said she was working on Ophiucus'. Sting and Rogue trained together, as well, not wanting to be surpassed too much by their respective mates. Orga, Minerva, Dobengal and Rufus were all happy to help and spar with them. While it was strenuous and tedious, it became like second nature.

Since the Sabers had gone home, things fell back into a rhythm that everyone was getting a lot more used to. Levy and Bickslow regularly visited, and spent hours upon hours in, the library. Mirajane and Laxus were helping Elfman get his and Ever's new home set up. Natsu and Lisanna were regularly going on small requests to help out on that front, as well. Nothing big, but nothing small, either. Cana seemed to finally fall back into her alcoholic tendencies, Wakaba's tobacco use fell back and the stress put on Elfman and Evergreen was lifted from their shoulders quite a bit. It still wasn't common knowledge about their child, but those who did know were intensely supportive.

Freed was as good as he was going to get, falling back into rhythm and forcing his mind away from the subject of Lucy. Meredy, Gajeel, Cobra and Kinana regularly stayed at the table nearest to the library, none specifically wanting to just leave them there with what was going on. Even though Cobra was overtly teasing Meredy a lot more than usual (Gajeel and Kinana suspected it had something to do with the sensory mage's _clear_ crush on the sieth), it was playful and light hearted enough to keep their minds off of the potential dangers happening around them.

In fact, everything fell into such a calm rhythm that everyone was startled when Levy _screamed_ for the dragon slayers late one night.

Gajeel was obviously the first to come barreling through the doors, followed by Wendy, Laxus, Natsu and Cobra. She had ink on her forehead, the candles were getting low, and eerily enough her eyes were glowing green.

Vibrantly green.

Gajeel turned, wanting someone to pin this on, but saw Bickslow safe with his visor on and no glow coming from it. A whimper came from the back of his throat as he watched her look at her bowl- obviously seeing something there that nobody else could. Wendy placed a hand on his shoulder. The action offered minimal comfort, but still helped if only a little.

"..Levy?" the young lass asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

The script mage held up one finger to insinuate they wait while she watched the inky waters. Once the green glow left her eyes, she turned away from the waters and started digging for one of the scrolls she had personally transcribed from the books. "I have a lead and I'm pretty sure I know where one of them is."

Wendy audibly gasped and Cobra's eye widened, though the other three seemed only to inhale sharply through their noses. Laxus leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "...So we gotta meet with the dead again soon..?"

She nodded, moving her map over the scroll she triumphantly pulled. "I don't know genders nor do I know what they look like, but I… Have a vague idea where Draco is. They'll be somewhere in the area."

Cobra sighed, sticking a pinky in his ear. The foreign language Levy's mind raced in _really_ got under his skin. "Little Blue, you need a break. After this, take tomorrow off."

She glanced at the poison slayer for less than a fraction of a second before looking back at her work. "I can't. I have to do my part."

Then, the poison mage turned to her mate. "Make sure she stays home tomorrow."

He raised a pierced brow but nodded. "What's goin' on?"

"Her mind's racing too much. Not understanding a language doesn't change the uneven, erratic speed of her thoughts. If she doesn't take a break soon, she'd going to exhaust herself in the worst kind of way," he said, picking up how she sighed indignantly. She took a breath, probably to argue, but he continued and cut her off. "That and she's not eating like she needs to be. I hear the muscles in her gut tightening angrily."

To which Gajeel looked to his mate in deep seated worry. "But she's been eatin'-"

"The stronger you get," Cobra continued, "the more you need to eat to compensate for the work your doing. Even if she's just sittin there and reading, she's burning a lot off magically and mentally. She hasn't been eating enough because of that."

The iron slayer nodded, looking back at his mate with a raised brow. She blushed, knowing she was caught red handed, and looked away. This wasn't exactly the first time she's gotten 'in trouble' for something like this. Going too deep into research made her want to keep going, not stop for anything and get very little sleep. This wasn't healthy, obviously, and she was only really eating when he was breathing down her neck to ensure she ate… Then again, she wasn't entirely sure _why_ she thought she could keep that from him.

Clearing her throat, she pointed down at the map.

"A-Anyway… I'll take tomorrow off on one condition."

Wendy nodded immediately. "Anything. You need it, and you _need_ to promise me to eat more. If I have to heal you for malnourishment, I'm not going to be happy about it," she reprimanded.

To which Levy groaned again, but nodded. "Promise. I, Levy Redfox, promise to start eating right and take tomorrow off."

Gajeel's chest puffed out a bit in pride at her choice of using _his_ last name, despite them not being officially married under Fiorian Law. The thought lingered a little longer than he'd have liked it to, and he briefly thought about making her a ring soon. After this was over. Not right now. This wasn't the time.

After this was over.

"This," Levy said, pointing directly at the map, "is where I believe Draco to be located."

Laxus leaned over her, looking at the map. "That's Crocus. Do you mean the mountain behind it?"

"No," she said and shook her head. "I learned a neat little trick with these waters. If I have a hunch or need guidance, it'll show me what to do. Draco is somewhere _in_ Crocus because their punishment was to be isolated from the others and roam where their true forms would never be seen."

"Well," Bickslow said, "I ain't seen a dragon in a city, so that sounds about right."

Laxus rolled his eyes.

Cobra turned to the two. "You're the only slayer with knowledge on how they smell. Do you think you can go?"

Laxus' back stiffened a bit, obviously _desperately_ wanting to say no.

The poison slayer sighed, but it was Wendy who continued his point. "You know what scent to track, we don't. You can grab something they touch or ask them to touch a piece of cloth and bring it back. All you'd have to do is find their trail and Rogue or Sting can pick up after that."

The blond man's shoulders slumped a bit but he nodded in agreement. "We'd need to get Sabertooth in on it, anyway. Crocus is in their domain, so they'd have more options for missions than we would."

Gajeel nodded. "Yeah. I took the only one we had yesterday on a day job, so I could also get Lev the last scroll my contact coul' find, so we're shit outta luck on that."

"Well," Bickslow began, "we also have to think that Luly and Yoo need to go, too. And they're already at Saber's 'quarters. It works fine."

"Not really," Levy interjected, watching as Cobra left the room but didn't pay any mind to it. "Even if we took a small day job, you'd need to take a few people. Lu, Rogue, Yuki, Sting, Laxus… They're on the hunt, not on the job. I'd bet money Lu and Yuki will be too tired to do the job after opening the gate, Rogue and Sting will be more concerned about them…"

Bickslow nodded. "The request may be time sensitive, so Bossman might not even be there to do it."

"So we'd need to find the easiest request so we don't have a huge group going," Wendy finished.

Bickslow threw his hands up. "I'll fight someone, I'm goin'. If it's Levster's day off, I can _finally_ get out an' move. Plus, she can't say she's got shit to do or make an excuse t' _not_ take the day off if I'm not here so it works out."

"Okay, so Mira, me, you and-"

"Me, please!" Meredy shouted, running into the Library with happy eyes. "I want to go!"

The Slayer looked to Bickslow for confirmation. He still wasn't too close to the sensory mage and if anyone would know the verdict, it would be the man whose house she was bunking at for the time being. He nodded his consent, and that was done.

"Alright, call Luly. We got everything on our end squared away."

* * *

Lucy sat with one leg crossed over the other in Sting's office. Rogue sat in the chair next to her and to Sting's side was Yukino.

"So we're going to go on a mission tomorrow. Together," the guildmaster said. "We haven't heard anything from anyone yet and if everything happens in five day intervals, tomorrow is a big day. Something will happen." After nods were gathered from the other three, he continued. "I'm thinking something small, easy to get to. We have plenty of cash, that's not the problem, so we'll be looking for simple things to do."

"Sounds good to me," Lucy agreed. "It'll be the first actual mission Yuki and I can work on together."

"Which is good," Rogue continued, "since you two have been beating the shit out of each other so much already."

Yukino was only able to roll her eyes before Sting's Lacrima started going off. He paused, looked between everyone and then answered. On the other end was Makarov and Laxus.

"Yo! Yuki and Luce are here, what's up?"

" _Have you all found anything?"_

The crease in the older master's brow was blatant and only seemed to deepen when Sting shook his head. "We planned on taking a small day job tomorrow just to see where that leads, though."

" _Crocus."_ Laxus said. " _Take one in Crocus. Something small. Levy found a lead and we're heading out tonight to see if I can pick up a scent similar to the redhead. Bickslow and Meredy will be doing the job, Mira and I will scout tonight and you four take over tomorrow. We don't have any in Crocus."_

Yukino nodded, pulling a ledger out from under Sting's arms. "We have two… One is assistance from the King, but Rufus is requested for that… But there's this one here. Pays seventy thousand. They're looking for bouncers for a night club tomorrow night. Can they handle that?"

" _Sure can!"_ came Meredy's voice from somewhere off screen, excited and peppy as she always seemed.

Lucy cleared her throat. "Bixy and Mare need to come to Sabertooth to grab as much information as they can on the request. Brother, you be careful scouting for me… Okay?"

Laxus nodded with a soft smile. " _I will. Mira is going with me so I won't be alone. She may be able to use her soul peering to figure out visuals."_

"Alright. Be careful travelling since it's already snowing in Crocus. We'll see you tomorrow," Sting replied.

Yukino and Lucy shared a look; anxiety, nervousness, worry and excitement flooding the two.

"Tomorrow," the two said simultaneously, nodding at each other.

The levels of anxiety and tension in the room doubled after the comm was shut down. The coincidence of Levy finding a _lead_ on a fourth day that would make them have to head out on the _fifth_ day… That was no coincidence. This is game time. Her breath caught when she tried to speak up, causing her to just shut her mouth again. There… There just weren't any words that fit. None of reassurance to herself or to Yukino, none to their mates… Tension grabbed at her gut again.

Sting leaned forward with his elbows on the table. "What are we looking at here? Who's going?"

Yukino sighed and leaned back. "It would be best if Lucy-"

" _Absolutely not,_ " Lucy and Rogue both growled out. Before Lucy could make her case, the shadow Slayer continued. "You're _not_ shoving the stress solely on to Lucy because you don't want Yukino in it! We can't change that they are the only two who can help, so get your head out of your ass!"

"Rogue!" Lucy gasped, looking over at him, shocked.

His red eyes rolled. "Yukino suggested you because she doesn't feel ready, but Sting needs to realize we _can't fucking change destiny_. I know him. I know his motivations."

Stings bangs were covering his eyes as he looked to the ground, ashamed to admit that his friend was right.

Yukino shook her head, ready to speak up to settle the argument before it escalated too far. "But you heard the King. I'm not strong enough-"

"Yuki," Lucy growled, narrowing her chocolate eyes at the woman. "He said I was _barely_ ready. If I falter, at all, I need someone to help me. We held the Eclipse Gate open _together_. There's nothing out of reach when we're together." She stood soon after that, moving her blonde hair back. "Besides, you're going to try first."

"Wh-What?!" Her hazel eyes widened in fear.

Sting was now openly glaring at Lucy, but she brushed it off with a dismissing wave of her hand. "I can't do all of this alone. The only way for you to know how much you need to grow is to _feel_ it yourself. Once you see and feel where you need to get to, it'll be better motivation than anything I could ever offer you."

Yukino sighed and looked at her blond mate. He was still glaring daggers at the blonde lass, but eventually, he gave in and looked back to his mate. Their eyes locked, both apologetic to one another. They were obviously going to talk about this later, that was an obvious, but they both seemed to consent. Sting cleared his throat and nodded. "We'll go, too."

"Like there was any other option," Rogue commented.

Lucy whapped his arm playfully. "Babe."

He shrugged. "What? I know where I stand and I know both of them well enough to understand where they stand, too."

"He has a point," the powder blue haired woman agreed with a sheepish smile. "We would never have let you two go alone."

The guildmaster nodded.

Lucy smiled warmly at them, then to her mate. "Let's go home. The baby is probably past ready for bed." Before the silence that ensued could get any more awkward (or tense, for that matter), Lucy said "Frosch. I'm talking about Frosch." Sure it was the middle of the day, but Frosch really did enjoy cat naps far too much. Lucy didn't consider it healthy, but she got to spend more time with Rogue and then more time babying a very tired exceed once Frosch awoke. It was a win-win to her.

* * *

Mirajane kept her sigh to herself- she wasn't about to announce her feelings like that. Hell, the lightning slayer had sighed and grumbled enough for the both of them over the course of the past few hours. The only real saving grace for this situation, to him, was that Wendy was merciful enough to cast Troya on him when he took off. The train ride back to Magnolia, on the other hand… That was another issue he obviously didn't want to think about.

The white haired woman had no issue walking about Crocus with her mate, though. Though winter, there were many flowers on displays that bloomed recently, creating a much more quaint vibe. Stalls for vendors were alive and well and posted near everywhere, selling everything from jewelry to flowers to food and even furniture. It was a bustling city of chatter, merchants, and eager citizens.

Christmas season was there and usually, Mira would be fawning all over the place and being hyper excited about it finally being December, but this wasn't the time. Unfortunately, this year, fate decided to screw with her idea of a happy holiday. Instead of sitting by the fire with thick blankets and warm cocoa, they were out walking in the small amount of snow, freezing, all while looking for a smell that was probably getting drown out by all the snow.

"I'm sorry," Laxus muttered as he ran a hand over his face. "I think they have too much faith in me…"

Mira smiled sadly and rubbed his back lightly, trying to ease some of his tension. "It's alright, honey. Trust me, it's alright. You're not used to this kind of scouting and we don't even know where to begin."

"It's just frustrating." Laxus turned to wrap Mira in his arms, to which she eagerly complied. There was something about being wrapped around him that made her feel so loved, protected and special all at once that _always_ gave her butterflies. His chin met the top of her head, the sigh from his nose making her hair flutter ever so slightly. "I wasn't raised by a dragon. I wasn't trained the way Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy were. They talk about scouting like it's the easiest thing…"

"But it's hard," Mira finished for him, her arms wrapping around his waist. "To them, channeling magic in a certain way is instinctual, but to you it's not. You were a lightning mage before you ever got that lacrima." She squeezed him lightly. "Don't discredit yourself."

He tilted his head down, his nose now buried in her hair, and placed a kiss to her forehead. It didn't help that he genuinely _didn't_ want to see what he saw last time.

There's a huge difference in seeing a dead body and seeing that. He's smelled true decay, he's seen the sunken flesh, he heard the obvious lack of a heartbeat. That wasn't anything new. However, smelling the decay and hearing the lack of a heartbeat- the lack of breathing- in someone who was _moving_ and _talking_? It unsettled him on a very deep level. It was something out of those corny movies Bickslow loved about the undead, but it's something frequently skimmed over. People seeing a dead body might scare them, freak them out, or even sadden them.

But seeing that dead body be _animate_? Seeing an obviously dead thing _move on its own_ is severely played down in those damned movies. It bothered the blond so deeply that he clearly remembered throwing up at the memory after coming home.

A shudder wracked his back as he thought of it again.

Mira was quick to offer a nasal hum to try and relax him.

The Dreyar pulled back slowly after a few minutes of standing in the middle of the street, holding his mate, causing stares. Her blue eyes watched him carefully, dissecting every muscle movement to search for his true feelings he couldn't ever manage to properly voice. Shit, he was thankful for that- not that he'd ever voice it.

"Laxus?"

He looked down to the white haired woman.

"Where would you hide?"

That caused him to blink, suddenly confused by the shift of conversation. Verbal whiplash, going from being balls deep in one subject then taking a sharp left into another. Confusing, to say the least. "What?"

The barmaid slipped her hand into his and pulled him along with her, walking peacefully once more. "Where would you hide? Imagine you're here, in Crocus. The Knights are on your tail and you're severely outnumbered. You hold information about something that could destroy Fairy Tail and they want to take you in for interrogation. Where do you hide?"

Laxus' thick brows furrowed and he shook his head. "I'd fight them all."

She looked up at him in a deadpan manner.

He didn't see the problem, so he shrugged.

A sigh _finally_ left her- though she was mostly put out by his oblivious nature. "Okay, shift gears. Where do you hide, here in Crocus, when I'm about to beat your rear for taking up the _last of the hot water_."

This made him watch her warily, knowing that's exactly what he did earlier and briefly wondering if he should take off now or not. Sensing no outward aggravation- only mild, simmering annoyance- he relaxed. Barely. "Mmm… Probably the sewers, alleys or at the arena-"

He stopped.

Their eyes met, wide and shocked.

"The arena." The words left Mira's pink lips on a whisper of surefire shock.

They nodded to one another and she allowed herself to shift forms. Mentally, she had to approach her Satan Soul, link with it, overpower it, and allow it to take over her person physically whilst she remained in control physically. It was a _process_ , but it happened in the blink of an eye for the more experienced mage. The wings that came from her back always took a few seconds to adjust to, but once she was fully in the takeover, she grabbed her mate under his arms.

Allowing Mira to pick him up was one of the worst things ever, to Laxus. It wasn't that he didn't trust her… He just didn't trust anybody but himself to do shit like this.

But he couldn't fly. He could _teleport_ himself with his lightning, but that either made too bright of a flash or made too loud of a noise. Or both.

Both.

When sneaking up on someone, it was always best to stay as silent and inconspicuous as possible. On the flip side, going to the Arena where the Games were held brought back a few memories. Suddenly, Mira was having second thoughts about this place. "Wouldn't Wendy or Natsu- even Gajeel- be able to smell something off about the Dragon Graveyard?"

The blond man shrugged to the best of his abilities. "Not necessarily. There were many scents from a lotta people at the games. Under there probably smells dank, damp and deep enough… I wouldn't question smelling ore there."

"But decay?"

"You _said_ it was a graveyard. It makes sense."

Mira blinked and nodded at that. She wasn't fully convinced, but it was worth a shot. Together, they flew down to the edge of the arena, standing on the walls she remembered being a path to the infirmary. When they were both standing, feet planted on the surface walkway, she gave up the takeover. "This… Brings back memories."

"Not necessarily good ones, either." Laxus tensed his shoulders. "I smell the graveyard from here."

"Really?" she asked, looking up to his face as they walked along. "Already?"

He nodded. "When you know what you're looking for, it's easy to smell. Dank, damp and deep, just like I said."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Of course, mister obvious."

He smirked and sent a small zap to her rear. She jumped slightly, pouted and sent a glare his way. "...See if I bring you breakfast in bed again."

A deep, resounding laugh left him, echoing off the walls. The slight reverberation of his voice, the way it carried in the building, made him remember that they were supposed to be _quiet_. The further down they walked together, the more tedious it became to search. It was awkwardly, eerily empty. There were no guards, no Games, no hustle and bustle like there had been in the summertime or when _they_ entered the Games. Seeing the familiar stone walls rebuilt after the dragon attack yet be _so empty_ was stranger than either of them wanted to admit.

Mira guided him through a series of mazes she clearly remembered. He let her, considering one wrong move meant ending up _somewhere_ in the Palace and the other wrong move meant getting horribly lost.

He was already directionally impaired enough, thank you very much.

His mate went to move a heavy stone slab, placed at the entrance to the stairs which _lead_ to the graveyard, and he stopped her. His hand on her arm, he looked at the slab in deep concentration. For the others, it was simple and easy enough for them to just… _Reach out_ with their senses. Laxus could pick it up if it were obvious, but reaching out wasn't something he was used to. Carefully, quietly, he tried to do just that. For a solid five minutes, nothing happened.

But then he caught it. The smell of ore and decay.

Flashes of memories came to his mind and his stomach churned, but he held strong. The barmaid, ever clever at reading people before they had a chance to read themselves, nodded. "They're here?"

"They're here," he agreed.

She pulled back and grabbed his wrist. "We need to leave- fast."

His brows furrowed and he tilted his head. "What? Why?"

"If you can sense him, and he's been a Dragon for assumedly eons, he can probably sense _us_."

His stormy blue eyes widened. "Oh shit."

"Let's _go_ ," Mira urged.

* * *

"Here we are again," Lucy murmured as she looked at the slab. Just last night, while she and Yukino were deep in meditation, Sting got the affirmative call from Laxus. Mirajane wasn't allowing her mate anywhere near the area- leading Lucy to believe the woman at the pier fucked his mind up more than he let on- and gave them what they knew. This wasn't just any of the titans, this was _Draco_. The _Celestial Dragon_.

Rogue slipped his arm around her waist, not rushing her into action at all.

She had called the Princess' personal line a few hours ago to let her know that they would be looking at the dragon graveyard again. She made up the worst and dumbest excuse of wanting to see how things were going and if the bones left when the dragons did. Hisui didn't buy it, but she _did_ agree that it was okay with her and that she'd keep everything on the down low. Lucy, in turn, promised to explain everything when it was _all_ over- which she clarified that she didn't quite know how long it would take.

But, at least they had official permissions.

Yukino lay her hand on the blonde's shoulder, understanding _fully_ how she felt. This place, this incidental finding, was what started it all. Well, for them it did. There were obviously things that happened before this, but for the two celestial spirits… This. This was the place. The two looked at one another, nodded, and stepped back.

"Can you move this for us?" Yukino asked.

Sting nodded and went to the far side while Rogue grabbed the near side. The two slayers easily picked up the five-ton slab of _rock_ and _concrete_ and set it aside. It was little things like that- little things- that made Lucy remember _why_ dragon slayers were terrifying to fight in the first place. As soon as the slab was moved, a retching sound was heard from Rogue.

Lucy looked over and ran to him, placing a worried hand on his back while he doubled over. Thankfully, the shadow slayer was only dry heaving and not actually vomiting. Sting looked no better, having crouched to the fetal position with both hands covering his nose and mouth. It could only be assumed that they finally smelled what Laxus did- that, or the cave just smelled like sweaty feet. Which could definitely be a factor.

" _Fuck_ ," the red eyed man heaved out through watering eyes. " _That's_ what Laxus was smelling..? That poor bastard.."

"It smells like the inside of a zombie's pierced _asshole_ ," Sting growled. He paused, his throat tensing to stop any bile from rising, before a grotesque sounding belch came from him. " _God_ , I'm gonna _die_ from the _smell alone_."

"You have problem with my scent, my children?"

The _ice_ that slipped down their backs had to be physical.

Lucy's eyes very, _very_ slowly turned to the figure, only to meet eyes with Yukino before looking up. Rogue and Sting were already openly gaping at the man before them.

A tall man, somewhere between Laxus and Orga in height, stood before them. His complexion was _rich_ , _deep_ , and reminded Lucy of a slightly lighter complexion than the mirror mage Sue from Phantom Lord back in the day. Darker than Cana, Bickslow and Orga but lighter than Sue and Boze. His hair was long, somewhere between Rufus and Freed, yet black as the night sky. His nose was strong, his jaw squared. His shoulders were wide, his arms were thick and he really gave off the _look_ of someone _strong_.

Strong like Orga and Laxus. Strong like a _warrior_ , a _barbarian_.

Yet, he held himself as refined as a nobleman.

He wore black slacks, barely visible past the long, black cloak he had on. His hood, though, was down. But none of this mattered to Lucy. Only two things mattered to her; the soft and almost sad look in his glittery navy eyes, and the stark white chain that went straight through where his heart would lie.

"No heartbeat…" Rogue whispered with wide eyes.

"No breathing," Sting finished, looking just as shell shocked.

Those navy eyes that looked to hold constellations within them glanced between the two. "Odd," he remarked in his deep, bassy tone. "I remember not a time whence Weisslogia and Skiadrum got along even once, yet their children have a pink string."

"You know Skiadrum?"

Red eyes met navy and it felt like an eternal staredown. Finally, after what _felt_ like thirty minutes, the spirit smiled sadly. "I did, young dragon. Skiadrum was a dear friend of mine."

Lucy stepped up to stand beside her mate instead of a little behind him. "Draco..?"

His eyes turned to her and his smile grew even softer. "A young Heartfilia. You remind me much of my beloved."

' _Beloved? Beloved key holder, maybe..?'_ Lucy thought, but offered a sheepish smile. "...Was her name Anna..?"

The spirit nodded and his smile grew even sadder. "She was my everything. I gave my life, word, blood, bond and oath to protect her and her lineage for as long as I lived. Unfortunately, time has a way of bringing forth problems we never thought to account for."

She nodded. "We were told. Stache Face-"

"Lucy, please," Yukino pleaded softly, "at least say the King!"

Draco blinked at this and glanced back to the powder blue haired lass before looking back to the blonde. "My child, do you refer to His Majesty as… _Stache Face_?"

Feeling incredibly small and childish under his scrutinizing gaze, Lucy shrugged slightly. A pout pushed her bottom lip out and a small huff left through her nose. "So what? He hasn't told me to stop…"

The laughter that came from the spirit wasn't expected, the sheer volume and resonance in the sound causing everyone to jump. "You sure are a lot alike my beloved."

"Draco, sir," Yukino called out curiously. "You, um… You keep referring to Anna as your beloved. Wasn't she just a key holder?"

Time seemed to quickly seep into the wrinkles around his eyes. The crows feet that usually came from smiling with your eyes now seemed only to age the spirit all that much more. "She was much more than _just_ a key holder. Anna was my mate in her life."

Lucy's brown eyes widened considerably, her face draining of color almost instantly. "B-But that means…"

"That means, my child," the spirit began, "you are more than you know. You were destined to live for the stars, for us spirits, as we live for you."

"Could that be why our mate mark looks so different?"

Lucy blinked up at her mate, wondering _how the hell_ he could stay so damned calm. Where her mind was going on the fritz, speeding up at a rapid pace to figure out what this _meant_ for her, he was thinking about their mate mark. He was level headed. How the absolute fuck-

"Your marking is different?"

 _Dammit._

Lucy was only jostled back to real time when Rogue nudged her gently. Frazzled and confused, the blonde lass lifted her arm to show what he meant. The spirit's brows furrowed lightly before a sigh left him.

"So it is… I am not aware, my child. I have not the strength to search your magicks to learn."

"That's- uh… That's why here. _We're_ here. We're here for his. This. That."

Lucy was having a hard time forming coherent thoughts.

Draco nodded. "I know."

Yukino looked over at the blonde and worried her lower lip between her teeth. Sting's arm wrapped around her waist to be as comforting as he possibly could be in the moment. "Luce?" she asked in a whisper. "Are you _sure_ you want me to try..? If Draco has sworn himself to the Heartfilia lineage, I don't want to get in the way…"

Lucy shook her head, pulled back from everyone, and _slapped_ both of her cheeks with her palms. "Snap. Out. Of. It." Muttering to herself wasn't the smartest thing to do, but Lucy was officially out of smart things to do. Apparently her great great great great…. Fuck it, her _ancestral grandfather_ was a fucking celestial spirit. A _dragon_.

Step one, visit dragon.

Step two, oh by the way- dragon is your ancestor.

Step three, go back to what you were doing.

Yeah, right.

" _What_ ," Lucy choked out, "do you _mean_ I'm more than I know?!"

"Lucy, baby, think about what we need to do-"

"No, _fuck that_ , what do you mean?!" She was yelling at this point, but she didn't care. You don't just _drop that_ on someone and get away with it! "You're telling me that _you_ are essentially my grandpa like that doesn't make a tit's difference! Well GUESS WHAT! You're a _fucking celestial spirit_! What does that mean _for me_?!"

"No." The one word sounded like a command coming from the spirit. Stern and scolding. "Do _not_ defile your bloodline by acting like a _brat_."

 _He did not_.

"Don't tell me what the hell to do!"

"For your information," the spirit said as he stepped towards the blonde, "I am a dragon _first_ and a spirit _second_. You are a human _first_ and a mage _second_. I was a dragon for millenia before I was ever granted a key, young woman." His navy eyes, dusted with starry glimmers, narrowed sharply on her. "My mate may have been human and I may have been a celestial spirit, but I was _more_ than that _before_ the Celestial Realm ever had laws. I helped _create_ that realm."

Lucy's eyes widened, now second guessing herself.

Wait, no, even then!

"Well, la-dee-fucking-dah! You're still a _dragon_!"

"And it could very well be two of draconic descent mating that makes your marking so different." He looked to the shadow mage who was now rubbing the blonde's shoulders and whispering things to calm her down. The spirit shook his head, his long hair barely following the action. "Have you no respect?"

"No," she spat out. When he tried to glare at her again, he noticed the smug cocky smirk on her face. "I don't _act_ respectful because I'm going to treat you like I do everyone else. Nobody's above me, nobody is beneath me. At the end of the day," her smirk turned to a smile, "we're _people_."

Draco smiled warmly back at her. "You remind me of Her Majesty."

Chocolate eyes blinked at this. The King said something similar.

"But you _should_ learn to hold your tongue."

She rolled her eyes at this. Nobody seemed to have anything else to say since Lucy wasn't wanting to snark back. Because of that, an awkward silence finally settled over the group and the blonde lass looked to Yukino before returning her eyes to Draco. "Stache Face said Yuki here isn't quite strong enough to help you, but I want her to try."

The spirit nodded. "I can sense you are… Son of Skiadrum," he turned to Rogue. "Your mate will be very weak after this. Be prepared to ensure she gets proper rest for as long as she _needs_. Ignore if she _wants_ to get up."

He nodded his agreement.

The spirit then, finally, coaxed the four mages into the graveyard a ways. The four followed him diligently, not daring to speak over the sounds of the crunching earth beneath their feet. The group walked for a decent five minutes before coming upon one of the arches. The ceiling was raised here, which seems to be what Draco was looking for. Finally, he turned around to face them.

"When summoning a spirit, you are to use the key. The key allows you to pour magic into the gate and hold it open with that magic. When breaking the curse of banishment, you must summon the gate itself." He reached up to grasp the white, phantom-like chain that went through his heart without doing so _physically_. It almost looked like an illusion. He lifted it to pluck his key off the end. "Instead of using your magic to push through the gate, use your magic to force the gate to you. Hold it there. Then, use more of your magic to unlock it."

Lucy tilted her head, making a mental note of this. She figured Draco knew because of being so damned ancient, but _maybe_ if she knew something like this, Loke's reinstatement to the Celestial Realm would have been easier on her. It was some information to pass down to her children- should she ever choose to have any. Right now was definitely not the time to think about that.

The spirit held it out for the light haired tigress to grasp. The handle looked akin to an aerial view of a dragon with its wings spread mid-flight, the center of the back (and right between the wings) having a series of impeccably small sapphires littering it in the shape of his constellation. The other end of the key made the whole thing look like you were witnessing a dragon use a breath attack from above it.

In her hands, Yukino could feel the faded power in the key. What little was left reached out to her magic container, almost like a stray animal resting in your yard to get in the shade. It wasn't draining her slowly, it wasn't tapping into her magic, it was almost like the presence of the power was basking in her magic. Almost like it was just shocked and happy to be in the hands of a celestial mage once more.

"The incantation you must say is this; I hold the key of the Chained Gate. Come forth, Gate of the Dragon." The spirit then bowed to her. "I'll stop you before you harm yourself, my child."

Yukino too a deep breath and nodded. Sting gave her a kiss to her temple before letting her walk forward. Once she was a good ten yards away from the other three, she held the key out in front of her and allowed her magic to reach out. Even though she knew she wasn't going to be getting this friend- and she was perfectly okay with that- she was still going to try her absolute damnedest.

"I hold the key of the Chained Gate," she began, but paused. Her magic barely reached the key in her hand before it felt as though the key was _ripping_ her magic out of her. Her teeth clenched tightly, her jaw set. A very real pinching sensation made itself known around her hip region and it only got worse with the more magic she had to put forth. The chant wasn't even over! "Come forth," she ground out. The words were forced out, yet with both syllables, the pain coming from the expulsion of magic doubled.

Yukino felt her hair flying. Her knees were wobbling, her body trembling from the pain in her side. The wobbling, trembling from pain, forced her to drop to one knee. She refused to meet both knees to the dirt. She still held onto _some_ dignity with only one knee down. It _hurt_.

It felt like someone took twenty knives and rammed them into her left hip. It felt like someone stabbed her with a needle, then proceeded to tell her that it was _actually a Javelin_ as it rammed further into her and forced the once tiny prick open into a gaping hole. Her stomach churned violently and she was suddenly aware of her lunch trying to resurface.

"C-Come forth," she repeated as she tried to force through it. There was still magic. She could go further. "G-Gate…"

"Stop."

At his command, Yukino felt all the magic she'd been pouring out just… Stop. The key stopped reaching for her magic, she stopped feeding it magic… It was like the one word brought the calm. But, with the calm, came the sudden realization that her lunch was hellbent on coming out. Sting was rushing to her but she shoved away from him in time to _not_ throw up all over him. He was already going to cringe from the smell of vomit- she didn't need to hear him bitch and complain about her vomiting _on_ him on top of that.

"You have the capability to summon the gate," Draco complimented. "You're almost able to assist. If you would have attempted to do anything else, though, you would have killed yourself."

"What the fuck?!" Sting growled at the spirit.

The spirit growled back- darker, deeper and much more menacing in sound.

The guildmaster cringed _immediately_ , knowing that tone of growl from when Weisslogia used to punish him for getting into trouble by doing stupid shit.

"My key."

"H-Here you a-are." Yukino lifted a trembling hand to the spirit, holding the key out for him to take back.

He nodded and looked to the blond. "Stay by her side and open the pathway to your magic core. She can draw off of you to help normalize, should you allow her. In the meantime, Miss Heartfilia."

"Lucy," she corrected. "Call me Lucy."

Draco nodded and offered her his key. "I ask you… Save my queen. Allow me to return and assist me in saving Her Majesty."

The blonde gulped deeply but nodded nonetheless. "I'll… I'll do my best."

"That is all I could ever ask for."

Lucy stepped a few paces forward, stiffly. She took a deep, settling breath and held the key as an extension of her hand. As more years passed since she first started using this magic, that's all any key was anymore- an extension of her. But, now? Now that took on a whole new meaning. Was it this natural for her because she's been a Celestial Spirit Summoner for nearly her whole damned life or was it because of her blood? Was Yukino the strongest _normal_ celestial mage because her own bloodline came from a spirit?

 _Stop_ , she scolded herself, _this is not the time to have an existential crisis_.

Then, she could feel the stares. Sting, Yukino, Rogue… Draco. They were all _staring_ at her. Peer pressure was the worst thing imaginable and nerves suddenly grabbed at her. She was _terrified_ of letting them down, of failing, of messing up… But, again, she mentally scolded herself. She _had_ to- not just for the Queen but to also stop the suffering of spirits that have endured it for far too long.

That thought made her nerves nearly vanish.

"I hold the key of the Chained Gate," she began dutifully. There was almost immediately a distinct and harsh tug at her magic as it reached out and cradled the key. It was akin to holding two gates open for ten minutes straight, and the instant drain startled the blonde. Still, she pressed on. "Came forth," she declared confidently, but yet _another_ harsh tug came. Her brows furrowed, the left side of her midsection pinching sharply.

"Gate of the Dragon!" she rushed out, knowing the longer she drug it out the more it would pain her. But, that may have been better than what she felt next. The next tug hurt almost as bad as when she had to use her own magic to destroy Aquarius' key and summon the king. Almost that damned bad, on _top_ of the pre-existing pain from the earlier words. This _deeply_ unsettled her because she didn't _pay attention_ to the previous pains when she destroyed her dearest friend's key. She was hurting too much emotionally and in her heart to pay attention to the physical pains.

But now?

That pain nearly brought forth a wave of tears with it- if only because it reminded her too much of Aquarius.

She saw the flash of light, the dark gold magic circle paint the ground. Her chocolate eyes filled with tears, but she didn't let them fall. Instead, she focused on how the _gate itself_ was rising from the ground- rising from the circle. Each second that passed drained Lucy all that much more, and it felt _excruciating_. Something akin to waking up in the middle of your own surgery because anesthesia wore off.

The gate that rose was pure gold and honestly looked like what many cartoons depicted the gates of Heaven to look like. Cast iron fence, but made of something otherworldly with blatant golden coloration. But the gate itself grew intricate. Where Lucy would expect an 'H' to be- like the gate to her old estate- there was a black carving of a metallic dragon. It's eyes were blue, some gemstone that appeared like a more saturated sapphire was on its stomach.

But a tear fell for what she noticed.

As soon as the gate appeared, fully, it's chains did as well. Three chains: one silver, one black and one white. No locks were seen on them. They looked new, thick, and like they had just been placed there two or three days ago at most. This is what the spirits saw when they tried to return home? It was disheartening at the deepest level.

Another tear fell and she forced more magic out, into the magic circle and into the gate. No, Lucy had no idea what she was doing. No, she didn't know if it would work. Her instincts and her heart, however, wouldn't let her idle by and just gawk. She made a promise to try her best to help fix this blatant and obvious _problem_. She needed to do this, no matter what. If anything, she could _try_ to force to much magic into it that it summoned the King like she did with Loke… But there was this nagging feeling that doing such for _this_ wouldn't work.

As she wracked her brain for other options, other ideas, _anything_ \- a resounding _crack_ echoed through the cave. Her eyes widened at the cracking coming from the white chain. _This is it_. Expending a _sick_ amount of magic, _more_ than she'd ever forced out in her life, Lucy glared at the chains. Blood began to fall from her nose.

"Lucy!" Rogue shouted, worried like _hell_ for his mate.

She ignored him, focusing more on the damned chains in front of her.

The silver one cracked.

She felt nauseous.

Her primary magic container was empty, being squeezed dry like a fucking lemon for some determined child's lemonade stand. She could only hope her second origin had enough. Her knees wobbled once, twice, and she fell to her knees. Her eyes, however, stayed on the gate. Blood came from her nose faster.

The black one cracked.

Her upper lip lifted in an outright _snarl_ , the noise reverberating across the cavern. One eye shut from the pain pulsating from her magic container. Three seconds ticked by and she poured almost everything into the circle. A vibrant, red glow came from inside the cracks as more appeared, the light shining brighter and brighter as seven more seconds droned past. But after that, for twenty full seconds, nothing changed.

Lucy screamed. She was frustrated, angry, in pain, and most of all she barely had anything left to give. She was on empty, almost fully, and she wasn't sure if what she had left was even going to make it work. It would drain her, then kill her from magic depletion. There… There wasn't any other outcome she could imagine.

Draco spoke, but the sound was muffled like there was cotton in her ear. Her vision grew blurry and her eyes couldn't manage to focus on anything. Black spots danced in her vision, threatening to cause her to black out. The feeling was immediately forced away because she _would not fail_. Rogue's voice was heard, then Sting's. What words they were saying- or shouting- didn't make sense. It sounded like an underwater recording. Her hair whipped around and smacked her right in her open eye, causing it to clench shut. She wasn't aware that the amount of magic she was pouring out was causing her hair to fly around like a damned wind turbine.

Frustration grew.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She screeched, forcing out everything she had to give. Everything. "DAMMIT! I SAID FUCKING **_BREAK!_** "

The magic stopped and Lucy barely managed to open her eyes. Blurred was the gate before her, though now? Now it was chain-free. It wasn't locked anymore. The key fell from her hand. Black spots covered her vision and she felt herself fall forward before she could get any other word out.


End file.
